Turkish Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2009 was almost surreal. I remember being at the Burnley game, Itchen north and the main concearn at the time, just a week or so into adminstration was about the club suriving, when we got relegated it was almost an after thought that we had failed to win, therefore down. In fact, i think i didn't realise until a minute or so after the final whislt went. Then it was all about the future of the club and getting behind the team. We might have been sh*t that season but you cant blame the players at least the team gave their all. I felt that winning at home to stay up the season before was the lowest we could bottom out, how wrong i was. 2005. I watched the 2005 relegation on a widescreen TV surrounded by Man Utd fans, i expected us to lose and go down but it was the gutless nature of the team in the run up to that which hurts the most. Pompey away, the players were beaten before they even got on the pitch, Villa, Boro, Everton, Fulham, Palace at home, Blackburn away, Tottenham away, so dire gutless displays. Relegation from the PL for a club like saints shouldn't be a shock, it's more of a shock that we survived for so long given we had players like DAvid Lee, Lee Todd, Stuart Ripley and Co playing for us. 2005 was worse though, due to the lack of bottle from the players, we went down without a wimper, i hope to never, ever see that from a Saints team again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 relegation from the prem...... with the players and manager we had, should have been mid table.....but NOOOOOOOoooooo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saints-cris Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 The Premiership, coz of all the last minute pain and the fact that it was a last day jobby.. and we were winning. From The Championship lets face it, we could all see it coming. I just accepted that we were dog**** in every aspect of the club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingeletiss Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Relegation from the CCC, we had boxed way above our weight for years, going down to L1 hurt, really hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 (edited) 2005. We bottled so many games -M'Boro, Everton, WBA, Villa, Arsenal etc Writing was on the wall very early on in 2009 and the existence of the club was at stake. Burnley was almost funny, though the week before at Hillsborough was a sickener, rivaling the Man U game in terms of spinelessness. The survival the season before against Sheff U was arguably sweeter than many of our prem near-death experiences. Edited 21 May, 2011 by shurlock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickfire Double Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005 - between the number of times we'd scraped home at the death previously, the Norwich home win and equaliser @ Palace, and the fact Manure had nothing to play for, I really couldn't picture us not staying up somehow. 2009 you could see coming a mile off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalek2003 Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005. It was a slow but painful decline, which originated in the Spring of 2004 when the vocal few put their own agenda before the club. had we appointed Hoddle as planned, we would never have been relegated in 2005. I often wonder how those responsible feel, although of course they will never admit it and probably hope the issue is forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrollman no2 Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 I remember talking to a load of Notts Forest fans after our last game of the season,when we were already down and they told me not to worry,because they thought we would be back up soon. Still didnt stop the hurt of falling into the third tier of English football,knwing we would be playing Dag and Red,Exeter,Rochdale etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
for_heaven's_Saint Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 In our last season in the championship I didn't have a season ticket but went to every away game and my over-riding memory of the season is the roar of the home fans as we conceeded time and time again. From pretty early in the season it was obvious we were going to struggle and by about half way through I think we were resigned to losing most games. Therefore when we were eventually relegated it didn't really come as a shock. In the Premier League however we had plenty of chances to seal our survival. It's the hope that kills you, as they say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Relegation from the Championship hurt more, I really thought we would bounce straight back from the Prem but Lowe's second relegation had me thinking we were screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrollman no2 Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005. It was a slow but painful decline, which originated in the Spring of 2004 when the vocal few put their own agenda before the club. had we appointed Hoddle as planned, we would never have been relegated in 2005. I often wonder how those responsible feel, although of course they will never admit it and probably hope the issue is forgotten. I think Lowe had much more to do with our decline,rather than not appointing Hoddle,but lets not go over all of that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Ask the ladies - the first time is always the most painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 21 May, 2011 Author Share Posted 21 May, 2011 In our last season in the championship I didn't have a season ticket but went to every away game and my over-riding memory of the season is the roar of the home fans as we conceeded time and time again. From pretty early in the season it was obvious we were going to struggle and by about half way through I think we were resigned to losing most games. Therefore when we were eventually relegated it didn't really come as a shock. In the Premier League however we had plenty of chances to seal our survival. It's the hope that kills you, as they say. This is true, i used to go to games expecting to lose. Notts Forest, Wolves and Doncaster home were pretty depressing afternoons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 (edited) This is true, i used to go to games expecting to lose. Notts Forest, Wolves and Doncaster home were pretty depressing afternoons. Donny was a bloodbath - fights kicking off all over SMS, even in the Chapel, people baying for RL prompting a cordon. The lowest of the low matched only by the snow-ravaged Sheff U game. I thought Wolves was OK - we showed real heart to come back and were unlucky not to get something in the end. Still thought we might survive at that point. Edited 21 May, 2011 by shurlock gramma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidthesquid Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Definitely 05. Truly was the end of an era. We were no longer invincible. 09 was just one more kick in the nuts in a saga that had long become a farce. The hurt of 05 was tangible (and that 4-1 will long live in the darker recesses of my mind.) And Agent Harry. In 09 it was almost funny it was so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint-Fred Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2009 was almost surreal. I remember being at the Burnley game, Itchen north and the main concearn at the time, just a week or so into adminstration was about the club suriving, when we got relegated it was almost an after thought that we had failed to win, therefore down. In fact, i think i didn't realise until a minute or so after the final whislt went. Then it was all about the future of the club and getting behind the team. We might have been sh*t that season but you cant blame the players at least the team gave their all. I felt that winning at home to stay up the season before was the lowest we could bottom out, how wrong i was. The game didn't matter that day we knew we were down..If we won we went down as the 10 point penalty kicked in that year not the next. 2009 much worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up and away Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005 by a mile. We had so many chances to avoid relegation it became embarrassing. Just the smallest amount of common sense or organization would have kept us up. It was something like 4 teams below 30 points come the last game and I can't remember a lower total needed to avoid relegation. So many blown chances and we were still in it until the final day, where we still could of got out of it. In 2009 we were dead in the water before we kicked a ball. We could not sell any players with exception of swapping a crocked Davies for Pulis and £1M+, could not give a lot of the high earners away, just a couple of loans who kept getting returned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Bald_Si Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Absolutely 2005. We'd been in the Premiership my whole life, and the thought of not playing at Old Trafford, Anfield etc, and having to play at the Withdean and Oakwell the next season made me sick to my stomach. Was resigned to relegation in 2009 as soon as we closed the corners of our stadium, and David McGoldrick was our "talisman". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 david mcgoldrick as our main striker....massive LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_jas Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005 by an absolute mile. Happened to be in Portsmouth for one of my dads ship reunions that weekend. Walkabout surrounded by Pompey fans singing that god awful song as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 TBF, McG was probably our most creative player in the 2008/9 team. Easy scapegoat. Undeserved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlesaint Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 TBF, McG was probably our most creative player in the 2008/9 team. Easy scapegoat. Undeserved. He THOUGHT he was. Swanned around like a big "I am" if I remember rightly. The fact he has spent the last two years mainly warming Notts Forest bench shows he isnt as good as he thought he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonsaint Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 1974 was the worst for me. 5th in the league when Lawrie Mac took over from Ted Bates around Christmas then a disastrous 2nd half of the season ended with us being the first victiim of the change to 3 up - 3 down. I've hated Birmingham since then because they finished one point ahead of us after winning at the Dell in a game we should never have lost. 2005 comes a very close second, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_Jonny Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005 for me. As a 16 year old nipper I had never comprehended that there was anything other than premier league football. I thought football outside of the premier league was for small, unimportant teams that no one had ever heard of. A couple in seasons in League 1 has certainly taught me otherwise. We all saw 2009 coming. I just felt helpless stood in Northam at the end of that Burnley game. It all kicking off around me. I hated every one of you that day, bunch of petulant mongs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 He THOUGHT he was. Swanned around like a big "I am" if I remember rightly. The fact he has spent the last two years mainly warming Notts Forest bench shows he isnt as good as he thought he was. Look I know the charges against him and defending him is a pretty thankless task And yes he has a massive f**king ego not helped by a laconic, lard ar$e running style that makes it seem that he does everything at half-pace (and the frustrating tendency to scuff sitters/pens yet hit screamers from distance). But he had a decent touch and good vision and, IMO, took alot of unjustified flak. Yes never going to set the world alight but not a massive surprise etither that he was one of the few players for which we got decent money. Looks like this season has been slightly better for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyboy Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 I always thought leaving The Dell was sadder than getting relegated, on the back of Matt's incredible finale it was suddenly over, yet league failure creeps up on you in September and becomes inevitable. It's very rare to get relegated as a shock on the last day, we went down in 2005 not because we couldn't beat Man Utd but because of the ridiculous results achieved over nine months, it was no real surprise. Perhaps Birmingham, Blackburn or Wolves might get a late fright tomorrow with goal difference suddenly dropping them.... The next relegation was about survival, what happened on the pitch had by then become secondary. To think that since all that sh!t we have taken 50,000 fans to Wembley and won a promotion is amazing. We really are part of a special era. And that hilarious Hoddle gag still makes me laugh - a man who has failed in every job since leaving us would have turned the tide.... Unlikely looking at his poor track record - so maybe its time to move on from guessing who would have achieved what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint in Paradise Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 1974 was the worst for me. 5th in the league when Lawrie Mac took over from Ted Bates around Christmas then a disastrous 2nd half of the season ended with us being the first victiim of the change to 3 up - 3 down. I've hated Birmingham since then because they finished one point ahead of us after winning at the Dell in a game we should never have lost. 2005 comes a very close second, though. This for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Saint Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005 without doubt (1974 smarted a bit I was too young to realise the true significance, but then it can't have been too bad as once European Champions Man Utd went down a position below us) how the chuffin hell did we go down when the Christmas "before last" we were 4th from top!! I still reckon if we had not let player power see Paul Sturrock out the door at the beginning of the season we would have been comfortably safe for another season. But then with vast amounts of money vanishing to God knows where maybe the journey we have been on since relegation was obviously meant to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Marco Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Going out of the championship. That whole season was something straight from hell. Lowe coming back. Fans at each others throats, protesting in the stands and outside the stadium (not to mention in the city centre!) players leaving and total gash coming in, the dutch muppets and going into admin. It was one giant **** up and the sad thing is we were the ones who lost out. Everyone else can just walk away but the fans are the ones who have to carry it forever. I don't mind being relegated from the prem league, if we go back up and come back down the next season it will suck but it will never be as bad as our last season in the championship. I hope we never have to go through anything like that ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNSUN Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Relegation from the Championship had become an inevitability, I support any manager we have, and in the very early days I thought Poortvliet would be ok, Holmes was looking good. Then he got injured and our form just crashed. Premiership relegation hurt much worse, all the effort Matt, Franny, Doddy and co put into keeping us up all through the 90's was wiped out by some gutless displays and dodgy signings. The ultimate punishment was going 1 nil up against United on the final day, and losing. How many minutes were we safe for on that final day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Of the recent relegations, 2005 was the "unthinkable" happening, 2009 was the sad "inevitability" due to a number of seasons mismanagement at board level. 2005 was the end of nearly thirty years unstinting effort. Of all his failings, I find it hard to forgive Lowe retaining Wartface,when it was clear the c^nt was not up to the job,before bringing 'Arry in. As for 2009, it really was inevitable and by the time of the BUrnley match I was more concerned over our existance than anything else. 1974 was the worst for me. 5th in the league when Lawrie Mac took over from Ted Bates around Christmas then a disastrous 2nd half of the season ended with us being the first victiim of the change to 3 up - 3 down. I've hated Birmingham since then because they finished one point ahead of us after winning at the Dell in a game we should never have lost. 2005 comes a very close second, though. 1974 - very bitter at the time as a schoolboy, THe mancs game was another that sticks in my mind,we absolutely battered them in the second half after Channon's penalty but only drew. I've detested manU since then and not even 1976 has moderated my feelings towards them (although respectful of Tommy Doc who was gracious in defeat). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 Relegation from the Championship had become an inevitability, I support any manager we have, and in the very early days I thought Poortvliet would be ok, Holmes was looking good. Then he got injured and our form just crashed. Premiership relegation hurt much worse, all the effort Matt, Franny, Doddy and co put into keeping us up all through the 90's was wiped out by some gutless displays and dodgy signings. The ultimate punishment was going 1 nil up against United on the final day, and losing. How many minutes were we safe for on that final day? Another reason I detest manU and Keane....oh and WBA and Robson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy_D Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005 Until then I believed that Saints were inherently a top flight club... they had been all my life and I didn't think that was ever going to change... The sheer number of points we lost late on, not always deserving to... being safe as things stood at half time on that last day... it felt like an utter injustice that we'd been relegated at the time, I kept expecting something to happen that meant we'd still be in the Prem lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascadia Saint Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2005. Since then I've barely been able to watch a game on tv or t'internet. We are never in the main sections of football news anywhere. And I have to put up with nothing teams like Wigan and Stoke in the prem. Our time in the football wilderness admittedly got even worse and even harder to swallow when we were relegated again, but it was no longer being in the top flight that hurt most. We had been there for as long as I can remember and although we spent most years battling it, relegation still always seemed unthinkable. Honestly felt like the end of the world at the time. Onwards and upwards! COYS!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedArmy Posted 21 May, 2011 Share Posted 21 May, 2011 2009 was obvious for a long time which softened the blow, aside from those 3 wins in a row late in the season, it was obvious we didn't have a hope in hell of staying up. Charlton was the day I knew we were down. 2005 was crap from the word go, the only decent moments were the 2 wins against them lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulwantsapint Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 Relegation from prem started in 03 when wgs was lot fully backed over transfers either in summer or dec when we sat in champ league places & could have challenged for uefa cup spot Sturrock would have kept us up if he was backed by board & senior players 09 was just a waste of time & even bigger waste of youth talent But after the trip to hell Saint Markus was sent to save us But if only NC could have had that magical file 18 months earlier Saint Markus could have seen us in prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingsland Red Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 2005. We bottled so many games -M'Boro, Everton, WBA, Villa, Arsenal etc Writing was on the wall very early on in 2009 and the existence of the club was at stake. Burnley was almost funny, though the week before at Hillsborough was a sickener, rivaling the Man U game in terms of spinelessness. The survival the season before against Sheff U was arguably sweeter than many of our prem near-death experiences. This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dronskisaint Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 Good and thought-provoking thread..I too can remember the '74 relegation and it hurt. It was vaguely written in the stars that Saints would be the first 'victims' of three up, three down and whilst it numbed me/us for a while we still had a team with skill, fight and character and I could still recall our old 2nd Division days so it didn't seem world-shattering in the same way 2005 hurt most - not just because I'd sort of got used to being in the top flight but because of the dreadful feeling of betrayal from the top to the bottom of the club. I'll never forgive Redcrap for his dishonesty, Lowe for his appalling, ego-driven mismanagement or, sadly, most of that team. They all could have done so much more and they stood and let it happen! I agree that the drop to L1 was totally overshadowed by the thought that we might not exist anymore...I won't forget that feeling of wtf do I do if the worst happens...it was and is inconceivable to transfer affections to anyone else. I stood at the final whistle at Burnley trying to remember everything in case I didn't get the chance again..hell of a game to try and gather memories around. Once St Markus and his trusty steed NC rode in there has been, in my mind, an air of rebirth...of being showered clean of the '05 era and a new beginning. I've enjoyed, in that perverse supporter way, the last two seasons as much as any since the early eighties although I'm glad to be out of L1 now. The fact that we aren't doing it via the play-offs reinforces the 're-born' theory. Good thread..did I say that already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlesaint Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 2009 was worse, simply because unlike 2005 the writing was on the wall almost before a ball was kicked. The return of the reddy cheeked one, his dismissal of a manager who could have done well for us, as he went on to prove with 2 other clubs since, and the appointment of a couple of Dutch clogs nobody had ever heard of. The hostile atmosphere at St Marys when fans turned on fans was horrible, the kids out on the pitch who had no chance against most of the teams we played, the hatred directed towards those running, or ruining, the club etc etc. It was a 9 month long, slow painful death - at least in 2005 there was hope, albeit false hope, and even a chance to stay up, but not in 2009. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dune Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 The whole period up to 2005 and the subsequent period until Marcus Liebherrs arrival was a dreaful time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitch01 Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 The most painful moment for me was on neither of the relegation days, but Villa at home in 2005. Two nil up and cruising, think we had previously beaten Spurs at home and Boro away, I really thought we could finish around 15th. The second half was an absolute joke and I was devastated for days, I knew it was over then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 Sturrock would have kept us up if he was backed by board & senior players he simply would not have..his style of football was terrible and he was a terrible manager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dune Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 he simply would not have..his style of football was terrible and he was a terrible manager His terrible start to the season had me worried. oh..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 His terrible start to the season had me worried. oh..... it was shocking..i went to the plymouth friendly (were pompey played the week before and watched that) and knew we were in big trouble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 2005 by a long, long way. 2008 was the final act of the decline, or the first act of the recovery, depending on your viewpoint. I was always confident we would find a new owner to bring back good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 He THOUGHT he was. Swanned around like a big "I am" if I remember rightly. The fact he has spent the last two years mainly warming Notts Forest bench shows he isnt as good as he thought he was. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasiak-9- Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 We thoroughly deserved to be relegated in 2005, we finished on 32 points ffs. Pathetic showing all season and it was an awful way to go down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 2005 was a nightmare for a side which had battled and been proud in escaping relegation so many times, 2009 was potentially disastrous from pre-season - I remember posting "if you look around the room in poker and can't see the mug, it's you" in relation to the fixture list. With that in mind when we started getting thrashed by grown-ups we'd all got resigned to it long before, with 2005 we still had hope and no reason to doubt our safety. One last thing, if Markus had "seen the file" 18 months before, Lowe still wouldn't have sold, we needed to go into admin to get rid of the board structure that had the potential to block takeovers, and drop the price to something attractive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 (edited) he simply would not have..his style of football was terrible and he was a terrible manager We basically won one and lost one under Sturrock, more than enough to keep us in midtable. Edited 22 May, 2011 by The9 Left a won out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 22 May, 2011 Share Posted 22 May, 2011 We basically one and lost one under Sturrock, more than enough to keep us in midtable. living in a place where sturrock is a legend and seeing his "football" i predicted that it would not last long when he got appointed.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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