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How much does it hurt?


sydney_saint
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When we went down in 05, I had this gut wrenching pain for a long time. Both in the relegation battle, and also in the month or so that followed. I couldn't function at all for a day or two after that last game of the season, it felt like the world collapsed. 

This season I have got angry and frustrated at times, but within a few hours I have largely shrugged it off. A few exceptions here and there where I have been seriously pissed off for a few days, but largely ambivalent between match days. I don't know whether it's because I am older, whether I don't love football like I used to because of all the money and corruption, or whether it's because we've been here before.

I dunno, I'm really not that fussed about going down. But I don't know if that is something shared by everyone else, or whether I have fallen out of love with the game?

I'm also curious how are the younger fans feeling? When we went down last time, I and many fans had never experienced relegation. There will be some younger fans who will have some memories of us in the lower leagues, but most of their memories will be in the Prem. Do you have that gut wrenching pain like many of us had last time?

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I can’t ever say I’ve felt ‘gut wrenching pain’ and been unable to function at work for several days because of Saints. They’re a football club, not a family member. I will say that I was more affected by it in 2005 than I was this time, mainly because this time just doesn’t hurt at all. We’ve been so miserable to watch for so long that I just can’t see what I’m supposed to be upset about missing out on next season. I’ve pretty much known since Ralph was replaced with Jones that we’d go down, nothing since then has been anything much of a surprise.

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2005 I was gutted, hadn’t known anything other than us in the Prem. We were 4th on Boxing Day 2003 (I think), well functioning team and a good manager. Getting relegated 18months later was a shock.

This relegation has been on the cards for several years. Circling the drain all that time, with a decreasingly likeable team and playing style. Add to that the even more disproportionate Premier League, there’s nothing likeable about us as a club or the league we play in. So nothing much to care about.

Edited by ErwinK1961
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7 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I can’t ever say I’ve felt ‘gut wrenching pain’ and been unable to function at work for several days because of Saints. They’re a football club, not a family member. I will say that I was more affected by it in 2005 than I was this time, mainly because this time just doesn’t hurt at all. We’ve been so miserable to watch for so long that I just can’t see what I’m supposed to be upset about missing out on next season. I’ve pretty much known since Ralph was replaced with Jones that we’d go down, nothing since then has been anything much of a surprise.

Yeah I can understand. I think I has personal circumstances which may have added to it. I was 15 at the time so that could have played a part. I was also in Australia so was confronted with the reality that I would only see us on TV a couple of times a season. Right now I wish I was in a position where I could only watch us twice a season!

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In 05 I was absolutely devastated. I think it was because I always thought we'd get out of it like we always had throughout the 90's.

This season I never felt we'd get out of it. Some at the club seem to have been arrogantly sleep walking into it since Ralph departure. I thought that was the right choice as I was excited by who could come in. When Nathan Jones was appointed I was scared, and when he went to give Ruben the reigns for his first managerial job was irresponsible. 

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29 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I can’t ever say I’ve felt ‘gut wrenching pain’ and been unable to function at work for several days because of Saints. They’re a football club, not a family member. I will say that I was more affected by it in 2005 than I was this time, mainly because this time just doesn’t hurt at all. We’ve been so miserable to watch for so long that I just can’t see what I’m supposed to be upset about missing out on next season. I’ve pretty much known since Ralph was replaced with Jones that we’d go down, nothing since then has been anything much of a surprise.

This.

The Jones appointment said relegation to me and here we are.

Replacing Ralph needed a big personality with relevant experience and a bit of spark to inspire the team and fans.

Basically like Ralph Hasenhuttl in 2018 which felt like a big, significant appointment.

Once we decided not to do that, and replace him with a too-clever-by-half appointment, we were done for.

I didn't quite think we'd finish the season on Watford/Sunderland/Norwich level on mid 20 points but here we are.

Bring on the Championship....

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Yeah, 2005 was a proper punch in the stomach feeling.  Those two 9-0 defeats were similar, albeit not as damaging long-term.

This time round, I think we've all had plenty of time to come to the realisation that we're going down, and for this reason, it's not the same for me.

There's definitely an underlying feeling of anger at just how badly we've cocked things up though.  This relegation has been totally self-inflicted and I really worry that the main culprits are currently still with us.  I have no faith in their ability to turn this around sadly.  

Edited by Sunglasses Ron
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I'm numb to it. The Premier League is a less enjoyable league than it was in 2005. This team is less likable and less talented than 2005. There has been less drama (guts shown) compared the 2005. The managerial appointments have, unbelievably, been a bigger shit show than 2005. The atmosphere at games has been worse than in 2005. In 2005 we beat Pompey twice, this season I'm just glad we didn't draw them in the cup as they would have royally dicked us. 

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Like others, different type of pain. In a way it’s a relief - I go to most home games and quite frankly it’s been a largely miserable experience since we appointed Puel; firstly just the football but since then also the results followed latterly but the complete lack of desire from players and tactical competence by increasingly dreadful managers.

I don’t forget how increasingly miserable the championship also became last time around so am not sugar coating that memory, but I think the era from league one through to to Koeman was my favourite ever spell as a fan. Going to games with optimism, likeable and committed players, and some exciting football to watch - I think that’s what we crave. We even won a trophy at Wembley!!

We’re never going to be “successful” in the premier league so while I’d like us to get back I’m more focused on the enjoyment. Easier now I’m older and have the experience of a stint outside the premier league to give me some perspective but if we can build a likeable, committed team and win some games playing a type of football that actually tries to win games, I don’t think it’ll be  half as depressing as the last 5 years or so.

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Not that much actually. Or at least not as much as I had imagined. Partly due to the fact that I accepted it quite a few games ago, so have braced myself, along with a combination of accepting that we ARE the worst team in the league and disillusionment with the PL generally (and due to that thinking some time out of it may be no bad thing). 

What really does boil my piss is the reason we are the worst team in the league, despite having a half decent core of players. Board incompetence. But that’s for another thread…


 

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1 minute ago, Chewy said:

I don’t forget how increasingly miserable the championship also became last time around so am not sugar coating that memory, but I think the era from league one through to to Koeman was my favourite ever spell as a fan. Going to games with optimism, likeable and committed players, and some exciting football to watch - I think that’s what we crave. We even won a trophy at Wembley!!

I have to say, whilst we obviously had Rickie Lambert and a host of other really good players during that period, the one I think who was most pivotal was Adam Lallana.  I really hate how he left us, but my word what a player he was for us. 

We really need characters like him to galvanise us once again.

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I remember the euphoria of last day escapes in the 90's and in 2005 when we scored I thought we could pull it off again alas it was not to be and i sat in my seat for a good 10 mins after the game in a numbed shock but cant say it lasted for days but I was very pissed off at the time. This year I have been resigned to it from very early in the year and now just laugh at how bad we are and it just sums up the PL when all you here on the radio are poor old Spurs/Liv fans moaning on how bad they have been this season because they are not in the top 4 and wont have CL next year - come and be a Saints fan you bunch of spoiled tossers - so will i miss the PL possibly for the standard of football but I can watch that on TV most days if I choose to but I wont miss the prejudice TV/Radio coverage not the PL match day experience so am I gutted we are going down - nope

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I just want to see us win, enjoy going to games and feel good about the club and team. The division we’re in is irrelevant, I’ve been watching Saints for 45 years and have seen players come and go so the division we’re in doesn’t matter. The division matters to the money men more and quite frankly the PL is far too rich for us. For the teams around us that escape are just in for more misery next season - is that what we want or is having a chance of getting top 6 potentially more fun? I appreciate nothing is guaranteed but if we had pulled a rabbit from a hat it would be rinse and repeat next season. 

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The pain of the previous relegations far outweighs this one. I’ve become so accustomed to the team struggling to create chances, defend or win games that you can’t help but lose interest. Also there is something dislikable about the current squad. Even if we finish 9th in the Championship next season that would seem far more entertaining than the dog shit we’ve been watching the last 3-4 seasons. SR need to focus on getting fans back onside and need to release some form of apology or reassurances to the fans. They also need to pick a manager the fans can get behind, someone up and coming and play a new style. The narrow formations and pressing have become all to unpredictable. 

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In all honesty, I actually feel positive about it.

If we hung on and survived I don't think the depth of the clear out would have been as deep as it needs to be.

In 05 I was worried about us financially as we had very few saleable assets, in fact I think it was only Crouch who went for a fee in the summer after relegation? This season we could potentially pull in £200m in sales.

The younger players who stay will hopefully benefit from a season in the Championship and we can change our style as the players who go a long way to dictating that style (JWP\Bednarek etc) will likely move on.

 

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After going through all the great escapes of the 90's, to be relegated in 05 felt like a real shit moment. First relegation I had any memory of, and just felt like the efforts of Le Tiss etc on keeping us up for all those years was such a waste. I remember the relegation to League 1 feeling like this one, just complete embarrassment. I don't feel anger or anything like that, just a feeling of how the fuck was this allowed to happen. 

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I feel relatively optimistic. No matter what the doomsayers say, we should be a very attractive team for any ambitious manager next season - the opportunity to coach young hungry players and to effectively build a team in your model whilst (hopefully) winning the majority of matches.

Sometimes in life to take two steps forward you have to take a step back first and maybe relegation is just what we need to help us find our way again.

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The going down doesn't hurt, as I've been resigned to it since Forest at home. What hurts for me is how we have limped, like a wounded stray dog, head first into it. In 2005 we put up fight in the face of it. This time round... Well, it's been utterly pathetic. That hurts more, in a very different way. Probably because, as many of said, we so clearly deserve it.

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24 minutes ago, Dan Johnson said:

In all honesty, I actually feel positive about it.

If we hung on and survived I don't think the depth of the clear out would have been as deep as it needs to be.

In 05 I was worried about us financially as we had very few saleable assets, in fact I think it was only Crouch who went for a fee in the summer after relegation? This season we could potentially pull in £200m in sales.

The younger players who stay will hopefully benefit from a season in the Championship and we can change our style as the players who go a long way to dictating that style (JWP\Bednarek etc) will likely move on.

 

Exactly this. We need a near total nuke.

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I was gutted earlier in the season. Probably Forest, but certainly Brentford away. Thats when I knew we were going down. 

The relegation to L1 was the worst I have felt, far more than PL relegation. That really felt bad.

Edited by Mr Nimbus
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In 2005 my overriding feeling was being genuinely gutted. Probably because it went to the last day and we were so close.

This season is completely different as we've been done for weeks. Main feeling is anger at the arrogance and ineptitude of the players, managers and board. Big summer ahead. 

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31 minutes ago, Dan Johnson said:

 

In 05 I was worried about us financially as we had very few saleable assets, in fact I think it was only Crouch who went for a fee in the summer after relegation? This season we could potentially pull in £200m in sales.

 

Agree with this, we are potentially in a much better place than last time.

But, it all depends on the owner. Wether he wants to take a punt on going straight back up, or wether he just wants to flog what he can, get his money back and do a runner. We could just as easily do a Pompey as we could a Bournemouth - we are at the mercy of a Serbian businessman.

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It's been a weird season really, since Christmas it's been pretty much done and dusted, so it's been like a slow death since then.

We've not been involved in the relegation battle at all, no matter what the media say. For that reason alone it's been easier to accept as it's been obvious, but by the same token the hate I have for these players is greater than would have been if they had an ounce of heart/effort about them.

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To be honest last couple of seasons I have lost interest in football. Especially the Premier league it's just full of Oil Clubs 🛢..

As for us being relegated couldn't really care less the writing has been on the wall it was inevitable really. 

Now is the opportunity you would think to reset and clear the decks.

But with Sports Republic and Rasmus the 🤡 at the helm could easily see us free falling because of further stupid decisions and egos.... 

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21 minutes ago, ally_uk said:

To be honest last couple of seasons I have lost interest in football. Especially the Premier league it's just full of Oil Clubs 🛢..

As for us being relegated couldn't really care less the writing has been on the wall it was inevitable really. 

Now is the opportunity you would think to reset and clear the decks.

But with Sports Republic and Rasmus the 🤡 at the helm could easily see us free falling because of further stupid decisions and egos.... 

Full, as in, just the 2?

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It feels very different. I feel very disconnected from the club, (and top level football in general), a club that has been part of my life since 1977. There are a number of reasons for this, our club as been and is being diabolically run, it’s very hard to connect with modern players, the social and quasi political  stances that the premier league and all those associated with it feel the need to signal ( I go to football for a blow out, not to be reminded of the perceived wrongs of the world), the massive disparity between the spending power of clubs, the total disregard for ffp ….I could go on. I’m hoping the championship will be a breath of fresh air in some respects, but I don’t really see the point in getting promoted again unless someone takes responsibility to level up the playing field in the premier league. 

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In 2005 I was absolutely gutted and admit I cried a little, having gone through all the great escapes with heroes like MLT and Pahars it was a horrible feeling as Premier League was all I'd known.

Feels totally different this time as apathy has long since taken over and I feel no real connection with the club or vast majority of players. Even when Forest took the lead last night I felt nothing tbh. I'm actually looking forward to the Championship and a great purge of playing and coaching staff, and hopefully feeling a connection to the club again. Think it will take a while for scars of the last few years to heal though.

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I would probably get Ofsted in as soon as the season is over. Seriously, though, the appointment of Nathan Jones was completely bewildering and made no sense at all. It would not have happened in most businesses. Relegation was assured and I think most people have accepted it for several weeks/months. Therefore, it does not hurt quite as much as in 2005. I remember relegation in 1974 but McMenemy really got the club going in the right direction with some great experienced signings…Phil Boyer …for example. The same has got to happen this summer. A team made of youngsters will not cut it in the Championship. Look at Sunderland and their managerial appointment.

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Just now, Boris Karloff said:

Really not bothered. Have watched a lot more NBA this year than prem games. There's a lot to be said for the way US sport is structured to give every team a fighting chance. 

We had a fighting chance, we spent a lot of money this season. Unfortunately the majority of that money was spent on absolute dross. 

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1 minute ago, RedArmy said:

We had a fighting chance, we spent a lot of money this season. Unfortunately the majority of that money was spent on absolute dross. 

True. But it was only a fighting chance of staying up. We're never going to win the league. We might in the next 40 years get to a cup final or get a Europa place, but that's probably all we can hope for. 

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Like many others on this thread I am not too bothered at the moment. We deserve to go down and there has been little entertainment at SMS for the last couple of seasons. 

HOWEVER

It will hurt next season if we don't get a team together that is no improvement on this lot that we currently have.

It will hurt if the likes of Ballard and or Doyle and or Dibling start to come through but then get lured to the Premier League by the likes of Fulham, Palace and Bournemouth. 

The 2011/12 season was fantastic. One of the best ever to be a Saints fan. 2005 - 2009  were shocking and the worst that I have experienced as a Saints fan. We don't want those seasons to be repeated. 

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Doesn’t hurt at all, feels like a weight lifted, if I’m honest. 

I despise this bunch of wankers, relegation and a reset feels exactly what is needed as we’ve been stuck in a rut struggling to keep our head above water for too long. 

I’ve been a big critic of Ralph and in full agreement that his time had run its course at the club. However he cared and genuinely wanted the best. These fucking wankers with over inflated ego’s let him down, for me, that sums up the state of this squad. 

As does their ability to show up against the big sides when they’re in the shop window, but arse prolapses when there’s a bit of pressure.

Serial losers all of them.  

It’ll be sad to see JWP, Lavia & Alcaraz leave for different reasons, but the rest I honestly couldn’t give a flying fuck about. 

Roll on the championship, roll on the rebuild 👍

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Much like everyone, obviously haven't wanted us to go down and really wanted it to click, but ultimatly most of the last 6 years have been pretty dreadful so will be nice to (hopefully) be in a relatively strong position in a lower division.  Looking forward to scoring some goals and winning some games.

2005 hurt a lot more, but a lot of that was because it was the last game of the season and we were staying up at half time (I think).  We really gave it a go in that scrap and was a bit of a shock when we didn't survive.

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Got what we've deserved at the end of the day. Some utterly dreadful decisions you could say since Koeman left.

The Puel / Pellegrino experiment.
The Hughes option in the summer when he should have only been here to keep us up
Not being able to really spend under Gao
Not really replacing Pelle / Mane / Tadic
Spending a fortune on shit centre backs (Hoedt, Vestergaard, Bednarek) and not replacing quality leaders like Fonte.
Struggling to create a proper team ethic ever since Koeman left, and slowly getting worse
Finally having the ability to spend some money, and spunking it on a load of players who may or may not be good enough, whilst losing a load of players who despite not being great, have kept us up last few years
Getting lucky with Broja last season, but not replacing Ings. Or we did, by signing someone who would struggle in League 1
Not signing a striker this season
A completely naive board in SR over the last 18 months

For all these reasons, it's not a surprise. We have also pretty much been down since Jones came in and we used up a bunch of winnable home games, playing long ball back 5 shite.

Like many others have said. Numb to it, and no real sadness. I'm looking forward to being in a league that we can compete in. IMO, there is a real lack of enjoyment just existing to win a few games a season and try get to 35 points. Next season could be really enjoyable depending on how this summer goes.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

It would hurt more if we didn't genuinely deserve to go down.

Exactly this. The most remarkable thing about this episode is the number of times we’ve been able to pull ourselves out of the mire, give the club a fighting chance, since the end of 2022, but have bottled every one.  

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I can remember all 4 relegations of the last 49 years and they all hurt about the same - a lot. Having said that I believe both the club and fans are tired out from the grind of premier league struggle and need some relief. Successful teams have a magical chemistry between the owners, the manager and coaches, the players and the fans. It is hard to achieve and there are no guarantees  no matter what the previous record or potential of a new manager. Saints have not been able to find that right man for a long time now and that is why they are going down.

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