BEEN THERE, DONE THAT...

Saints` Swiss billionaire owner, crane magnate Markus Lienberr (pictured) seems very happy. And so he should. He comes to all the home matches and, for all I know, some of the away ones too and since he brought us back from administration and the brink of extinction, he has seen us progress from being ten points adrift at the bottom of the league table to a respectable mid-table position, with even an outside chance of reaching the play-offs. Although, to be fair, we are still `only` four points above the drop zone.

Moreover, he has seen us progress in the Johnstones Paint Trophy to the point where we are but one game away from a first appearance at the new Wembley Stadium. Then there is our progress to the 5th round of the FA Cup, where we have been drawn at home against our bitter rivals from just down the road at Portsmouth. Now that draw has all manner of interesting implications, not least given the thin financial ice that Pompey are skating on right now. They are facing at least two winding-up petitions and could conceivably be out of business by the time we are due to play them.

For the sake of both clubs, I hope they survive at least long enough for the game to go ahead, otherwise we will each miss out on another local derby and also £257,500 worth of tv money as well as the gate money and other revenues. Now whilst that income would be welcome for Southampton, for Portsmouth it could be vital in helping them continue to limp through a depressing season. I don`t want to appear patronising and I don`t want to appear smug, coming from Saints` new position of financial security, because this time last year we too were in dire straits, allegedly just days away from going out of business ourselves.

So having been there and done that, I know only too well how the Portsmouth fans must be feeling. And the fans of Crystal Palace, thrust into administration themselves only yesterday. And Luton Town. And Chester City, who are up for sale for £1 and whose debts amount to `only` £26,000. And all the while, it seems that the biggest Premier League clubs are somehow allowed to run up debts of hundreds of £millions and allowed to carry on as if there`s no problem. Somehow, it doesn`t seem quite fair and I wonder how long before some of them too might hit the buffers.