I COULD SCREAM TOO....

Edvard Munch`s iconic image could well have captured my mood as I wandered back along Southampton`s Central Bridge late yesterday afternoon following Saints` 1-0 home defeat to Charlton Athletic.

You see, I don`t mind the fact that we lost even despite Charlton being reduced to playing with 10 men for the last hour of the game. I don`t mind the fact that their winner came deep into added time at the end of the game - I`m used to that kind of thing. I begrudge Charlton nothing. They deserved their victory. Good luck to them.

But two things get to me. The first is the decline and fall Saints have suffered in the last few years, for it was just four years ago almost to the day that we beat Manchester United 1-0 with a late header from James Beattie to go fourth in the Premiership. Since then, there has been relegation, financial worries, boardroom shenanagins, players sold...now the rumour of administration and the threat of more players going in the January sales. We have a manager who has raised beweilderment to an art form thanks to his eccentric team selections, tactics and bizarre substitutions.

Small wonder we are languishing in the comfort zone of mid-table obscurity with little prospect of recovery.

The second thing that gets to me is that - in my street - there are Charlton fans opposite, another family down the road whose son actually plays for their Reserves and I get on very well with all of them. In a while, I will be having lunch with one of my very best friends who has recently declared his fanship to Charlton Athletic and I know....I just know.... that although these good friends may say very little as a result of yesterday`s events, they will inwardly be punching the air and wallowing in their understated bragging rights.

I would do the same if I were them, wander around with a contented glow inside....sadly, I`m a Saints fan. Have been since my Dad first took me to The Dell in 1947 - 60 years ago - you don`t choose your club to support, the club chooses you. So although I could scream at the disappointment of yesterday, I won`t bother, as there`s no point. Que sera, sera indeed.