MORE ROUGH THAN SMOOTH..

Since being taken to The Dell by my late father in 1946 to see my first ever Saints game, I have witnessed many twists and turns, many ups and downs and I seemed automatically to adopt the default condition of being a  Southampton supporter by being continually bewildered by the unpredictability of it all.   There have been some very good times indeed - promotions, trophies won, trips to Wembley, even European competitions - but there have also been some bad times too - relegations, threats of liquidation, painful results - but nothing has come close to the humiliation of losing 0-9 at home in the Premier League, as happened last night against a rampant Leicester City side.

Today, not surprisingly, the fans forums, press reports, media coverage have all been about that historic defeat (at least we made history) and there is a general feeling that something needs to happen and quickly to recover from this `disaster` (R. Hasenhuttl.)   As last night`s game unfolded my initial hope quickly turned to disappointment which, as the rain pelted down and the goals rained in, turned to anger, then despair, then a kind of benign resignation and finally the return of that default condition - our old friend bewilderment.

I`m used to taking the rough with the smooth but last night`s abject failure again confirmed that if you are a Saints fan then you have to be prepared to live with - and perhaps accept - that there is invariably much more rough than smooth.  Kipling`s twin impostors  teach us to treat triumph and disaster in the same way, but sometimes it`s easier said than done -  especially as next up are two games away at Manchester City.

Pass the sal volatile !!