For over 70 decades I have witnessed the comings and goings of ownership and control of Southampton Football Club.   The incumbents have been many and varied and have ranged from  local businessmen and local worthies to chancers, foreign investors and at least one of genuine benevolence.  Of more recent times, the club has been in the majority ownership of a Chinese gentleman who, because of Chinee politics  and curbs on foreign investment, has been more than a little absent from the south coast and keen to release himself from his association with the club.  During his tenure, he didn`t put any money into the club and didn`t take any out and left the club`s highly competent management team to get on with running things.  To be fair to them, they have done a pretty good job of so doing.

And now it seems that we have new majority owners - I use the word deliberately as Katherina Liebherr has retained her 20% share in the club so as to protect the legacy of her late father, Markus, who was the one owner in recent times who demonstrated not only genuine benevolence but also a genuine `feel` for the club, the city of Southampton and what the club meant to the city.

With an unusually muted announcement yesterday the new majority owners were revealed as newly formed investment company Sports Republic..  The investment side of things is headed by one Dragan Solak, a Serbian born billionaire entrepreneur.  He is joined by Rasmus Ankersen who has been a director at both Brentford and FC Midtjyland in his native Denmark and by another Dane, London based investor Henrik Kraft.  The price paid for their controlling stake is reported at £100million, in other words the equivalent of buying one Jack Grealish.

They have made all the right noises but then new owners invariably do and it remains to be seen whether this takeover - for that is what it is - turns out to be as beneficial as we fans hope it will.  What is encouraging is that the present management team have been quietly working away at this for months and months and Chief Executive Martin Semmens - who enjoys the confidence and support of the majority of the fan base - has declared that the new majority owners were by no means the only ones considered and that the `choice` to accept them was made in the best interests of the club`s future. This is perhaps confirmed by the speed by which the Premier League approved the takeover following the recent introduction of new criteria as a result of Tracey Crouch`s review into the `fit and proper person` qualifications for Premier club ownership.

As for me, I hope it all works out for the best, even if I still cling on to my share certificates from the good old days - when you could buy shares in Southampton Leisure Holdings plc - in the vain hope that one day I might get a dividend.    

 

THE PARTY`S OVER...

....."it`s time to call it a day.  They`ve burst your pretty balloon and taken the moon away.  It`s time to wind up the masquerade."  These snatched lyrics from a timeless classic seem somehow to catch the mood as yet another  football season draws to a close.   Well, almost.  Just things like play-off finals to determine promotion, relegation or stagnation, then the European Championships and all that jazz before the bandwagon leaves the stable for another roller coaster ride.

Forgive me.  I am in danger of losing myself in yet another lyrical fantasy world.  But I confess to having mixed feelings about the end of another season as far as the teams I follow are concerned.  In one sense I`m heartily glad that it`s just about all over and I can look forward to a stressful few weeks before it starts all over again, but that is met with a tinge of disappointment that, once again, the three teams I am left to follow have all contrived to lose again.

Perhaps I`ll start with hopefully the worst damaging defeat, which came at the London Stadium as Southampton capitulated to yet another 3-0 defeat against West Ham.  It typified the season for the Saints really - a bright start that led to nothing followed by a pretty dismal end which also led to nothing.  Hard to believe that back in November the Saints were top of the Premier League beating the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City before a dreadful run which saw 19 league defeats overall and conceding more goals than any other club in the Premier League except relegated West Brom.

OK we scraped through the season by missing relegation, finished 15th, lost in the FA Cup semi-final but in truth it was a pretty dreadful season, which has left worrying questions about next season and the need for a wide ranging overhaul of much of the squad, the coaching staff and most importantly the ownership.  Surely there is a guardian angel out there somewhere willing to invest all his or her money, rid us of the absent non-investing Chinese owner and take us back to the promised land of mid table obscurity?

The next two reports cover yet more damaging results.  Last night the televised second leg play-off semi-final between Forest Green Rovers and Newport County was a game of proper football with so much riding on it.  Rovers were 2-0 down from the first leg but went 2-0 up within eight minutes to level the aggregate score.  Then 3-0 up early in the second half only for Newport to come back with two goals to bring the aggregate score to 4-3 in their favour and although Rovers scored another, it was Newport who went on to score again in the 118th minute - yes, that deep into extra time - to secure their place in next week`s Wembley final. Although  Forest Green  won the game 4-3 on the night, sadly for them the 5-4 aggregate score was a case of winning the battle but not the war.

So near and yet so far.  The Nailsworth faithful, whilst disappointed with the result, are full of praise for the team`s effort last night and proud to be Rovers fans - wishing Newport all the best for their place in the final against Morecambe.   Such is life in League Two, which has so much to commend it.

Lastly, yet more disappointment for Brechin City fans whose 67-years stay in the Scottish League came to an end following their 3-1 aggregate loss in their own play-off final to Kelty Hearts, who now take Brechin`s place in Scottish League Two.  Brechin, meanwhile, are now consigned to the outposts of the Highland League but visitors to Brechin`s Glebe Park will surely be in awe of the famous hedge if not the opposition..  

So, pretty balloons severely burst all round for me.  I`ll end the season with another visit to that classic song. "The party`s over.  The candles flicker and dim.  Now you must wake up.  All dreams must end. The party`s over.  It`s all over, my friend." (At least for another season.)

 

A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB...

Well, that is the fate that has befallen two of the football teams I follow, as a result of yesterday`s play-off first leg games.   Firstly, Forest Green Rovers went down 2-0 away at Newport County`s Rodney Parade Ground in South Wales.  The game was screened live on Sky Sports and it may have been the effect of the worldwide audience that played on the minds of the Rovers players (although they were in competition for viewing figures with Manchester United, whose game was on a neighbouring channel at the same time.)  

In other games between the two teams this season, one was a 0-0 draw and the other a 1-0 win for Rovers, so it was always going to be a close call.   The return leg is at Rovers` New Lawn ground in Nailsworth on Sunday and although they have a mountain to climb hope springs eternal.

The other play-off game that concerned me was the first leg encounter between Brechin City and Kelty Hearts at the latter`s New Central Park ground in Fife.  Must be a difficult place to go to, Kelty, as Brechin went down 2-1 in yet another close encounter.  The return leg will be at Brechin`s Glebe Park ground on Sunday to determine whether the home side will retain their Scottish League Two status or take Kelty`s place in the Highland League, where they might look up trips to Fort William, Wick, Fraseburgh and other northern outposts.  A mountain to climb for Brechin then - perhaps in more ways than one.

As almost an afterthought, my beloved Southampton played Leeds - the Damned United - in their last home game of the season before an expectant 8,000 Saints supporters.   In true Saints` style, they contrived to lose 2-0, thanks to a goalkeeping blunder and a 95th minute breakaway goal that followed a golden opportunity to level the scores. 

So, a hat trick of defeats for the three teams left for me to follow in these dog days of the season.  Nothing too unusual about that but I long ago learned the lesson of life that says you have to learn how to lose before you can enjoy the winning. In the recorded `highlights`, I caught a glimpse of my old seat in Block 9, Row P of the Itchen Stand at St. Mary`s.   There didn`t seem to be anyone sitting there.   Perhaps it has been `retired` since my departure?

 MAYBE THERE IS A GOD AFTER ALL ?

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl sinks to his knees following Saints` dramatic 1-0 win over Liverpool last night.

The picture tells the story and says it all.

 

....OR WAS IT IRONY?

Watched Match of the Day 2 on BBC late(ish) last night.  Now we all know about BBC bias - left leaning, metro centric, never wrong whatever the criticism might be, assumed entitlement to squander licence-payers money, but last night they exceeded their deserved reputation......or have they finally discovered the meaning of irony?

The segment/highlights of the game between Southampton and league leaders Everton began with five minutes of adulation about Everton`s admittedly excellent start to the season which included a collection of Everton fans singing the praises of the team and their manager, Carlo Ancelotti.   I suspect this montage was filmed in anticipation of the Saints being given an almighty thrashing and probably accounts for the BBC`s decision to have two former Everton players (Tim Cahill and Leon Osman) in the studio to `analyse` the expected victory for the Toffees.

Trouble was that Southampton beat Everton 2-0 in a game which they dominated from start to finish, thoroughly deserved to win and which saw them rise to 5th in the Premier League table.  So it was surprising the pre-recorded segment was not `pulled` and that the studio pundits were not replaced by a more neutral duo.  Unless....and here might the irony lie - the montage of fans before the match set the scene perfectly for the way the game panned out -  so the producers played a blinder in setting Everton up for a fall. 

Having two ex Everton players in the studio was premeditated overkill and simply added to the irony, which is defined in my dictionary as "aspect of a situation that is odd or amusing because the opposite of what one would expect."   Sounds about right.

There are reports that suggest that Gareth Bale might be `moving along` from Real Madrid and that Manchester United are inevitably linked with that rumour.  That wouldn`t surprise me as they seem to be linked with countless players from across the world on a daily basis - they seem more interested in collecting players than building a team - so maybe the Bale link is as tenuous as all the others.  We`ll see.

But let`s start with the sublime bit.   Gareth Bale was spotted by a Southampton scout playing for his school team in Cardiff at the age of nine.   He joined the Saints` fabled academy having attended their satellite training facility at Bath.  He progressed through the age groups until he made his first team debut for Southampton in April 2006 when, at 16 years and 275 days, he became the second youngest player ever to play for the Saints after Theo Walcott, who was 132 days younger.   Bale`s first game for Southampton was in a 2-0 victory over Millwall. (I was lucky enough to be there that day to see the undoubted quality in one so young,)

At this point it`s worth including a short video which the Saints made to celebrate the opening of their new training facility at Staplewood and in which a number of leading players, past and present, express their admiration for the club.  Bale makes it clear that the club always treated him well, encouraged his development and acknowledges that he `would not be where I am today had it not been for Southampton.`   Here it is:-

Of course, it wasn`t long - just 43 games and a year or so later - before Bale was snapped up by Tottenham for a substantial fee and following a productive time at White Hart Lane he proceeded even further up the football ladder to Real Madrid, where he has been since 2013.  He has had an interesting time there - the inevitable highs and lows - but he seems to have fallen out of favour, hence the speculation about a potential move away and the rumours of Manchester United`s interest.

And here`s where it gets ridiculous on the one hand and a tad disappointing on the other. He seems settled in Madrid with his young family and, as he has been there for seven years now, he perhaps should feel settled and a bit reluctant to move.  And why not, when he is being paid £600,000 each and every week which seems pretty ridiculous even for the parallel universe of professional football.  To add to the ridicule, Manchester United are supposedly willing to pay half that fee to take him on loan, with Madrid coughing up the other half - although Bale reportedly doesn`t fancy a loan deal.

Whatever the outcome, the thing that is a tad disappointing is that, rather than having any need whatsoever to chase the money, Bale doesn`t offer to come back to Southampton on a minimum wage to repay them for the formative years he spent learning his trade.  That would be nice, of course it would.   Trouble is, Southampton are perhaps more interested in building a team than making a statement they don`t need to make. But I hope for his sake, Bale does not find himself lost in a wilderness of his own making.

STOP PRESS :  It looks as if Bale might be on his way back to Tottenham, which must surely be a mere staging post on his eventual return to the south coast?  Is that yet another pig I see flying over my roof?

END TITLES...

It must have been ten years ago, back in the days when Southampton were consigned to playing in League One (aka Division Three of the Football League) when my season ticket took me to St, Mary`s Stadium to watch the Saints come to terms with their decline and fall.  There was no pressure back then - no expectation - and so we used to sit in the Itchen Stand with a feeling of que sera sera in the hope that we might be entertained and that the game might end with a sense of optimism.  One game in particular might have been against the now dearly departed Bury FC - The Shakers - but they were all much of a muchness in those days of shoulder-shrugging resignation. 

My good friend, the Itchen Sitter - he chose the name as his on line moniker as he, like me, sat in the Itchen Stand - and we got to having interesting chats during the frequent lulls in proceedings on the field of play and I recall him encouraging me to watch a film he had recently seen suggesting it was the kind of film I might enjoy.   The film was `Gran Torino` written, produced, directed and starring Clint Eastwood as a Korean war veteran struggling with all kinds of `issues,` not least the fact that his street had been taken over by Hmong neighbours

I eventually got around to seeing it and despite its inherent violence and culture clashes, there was much to admire - the characterisation, the acting, the feeling of authenticity,  the way the story unfolded until the Clint Eastwood character  committed the ultimate redemption - he was dying anyway - by sacrificing himself to a hail of bullets so that his  Hmong neighbours might live in peace.  It turned up again on ITV4 recently, so I was able once again to appreciate all it had to offer.

But for all that I make no apology for confessing that the best bit of the whole thing was the song that accompanied the end titles.   It was written and sung by Jamie Cullum and it summed up the essence of the film, along with the difficulty of finding things to rhyme with `Torino.`   Anyway, here it is in all its poignant melodic excellence:-

Sometimes pictures really do paint a thousand words...

WORTH WAITING FOR...

It`s been a long time since I felt the need to post anything about `Sir` Alex Ferguson but the events at Old Trafford last evening rekindled memories of my disenchantment with everything to do with Manchester United and their former manager.  I won`t repeat my rants of times gone by but perhaps sufficient to say that since his merciful `retirement` we have been spared his law-unto-himself arrogance.

Now fortunately his current successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, seems a more acceptable incarnation - he has done well especially of late by rescuing Manchester United from their early season torpor and bringing them to the brink of Champions League qualification.  Almost but not quite yet.   For last night they were held to a 2-2 draw against Southampton in what was a proper football match played between two highly competitive teams, thus leaving United in 5th place in the Premier League - one place short of where they would like to be.   

Michael Obefemi`s 96th minute equaliser was just reward for yet another committed performance from the reborn Saints and was engagingly pertinent given the number of times over the Fergie years when Fergie time and compliant officials allowed United to win games.  Now I`m pretty sure that if Saints` equaliser had happened in the time of Ferguson`s `management` he would have blamed anyone and everyone, especially the match officials, for denying his team all three points.  So it was encouraging to hear Solskjaer`s post match comments which were sanguine, measured and appreciative of the way Southampton had played, resulting in a fair result, leaving the Saints in a dizzying 12th place.  

So times may have changed a little, although I detect still a feeling of entitlement about United, still that whiff of arrogance not helped by the Sky commentary team including the biased whiny ramblings of one Gary Neville. 

The picture above shows Ferguson suitably gagged as he watched the end of the game in the quiet of Old Trafford last night.  It`s been a long time since I have seen him looking so glum faced....but well worth waiting for. 

They don`t come around too often but when they do they`re worth celebrating.  Yesterday started off with a two hour dog walk around the North Downs, the Pilgrims Way and the glories of summer in the Kent countryside.  Followed by a whizzo Sunday lunch which would put Rick Stein to shame (if you`ve ever had an M & S lemon cheesecake you`ll know what I mean.)

And then in the evening the unbelievable happened when Southampton pulled off an astonishing victory against Manchester City with a brave, resilient, almost heroic performance, winning 1-0 before a world wide terrestrial TV audience.   The goal came from Che Adams, bought at great expense from Birmingham City  last January with a reputation as a free scoring striker;  but who had so far failed to find the back of the net in his 30 appearances for the Saints.

His 45 yard strike yesterday was not only worthy of Goal of the Millennium but also a cause for wild celebrations from his team mates who seemed genuinely delighted for him - surely the first of many more to come.  The win leaves Saints a vertigo-inducing 13th in the Premier League table with 43 points and still five games to go before this weird season finally ends - eclipsing the league and points position for the past two seasons.

So, dancing in the streets of Southampton last night (or was it reckless social distance defying  euphoria?) - the fans didn`t see that coming - over the moon - desperately running out of cliches - but the day ended as I gazed deep into the night transfixed by the Premier League table on permanent  teletext view as mathematically it will now be impossible for the Saints to be relegated.  Perfect.

Sorry about the gif, but it does rather sum up my feelings today.  Ever since the lockdown began and the consequential postponement of football matches, I confess that I wasn`t too bothered.  As a life long Saints fan I would happily have settled for the Premier League to have finished then, leaving Southampton in a comfortably numb 14th spot.

I also enjoyed the fact that, on the match days that never happened, I was relieved not to have the stress, the anxiety, the anguish and mental health issues associated with being a Saints fan whenever the team play a game.   It`s a default condition of Saints fans to assume the worst, to expect disappointment, to worry whether the club is going to survive another Premier League season.   And I`ve often wondered where all those emotions come from, what  they are for, what do they represent?  Are they genuine fears for the club?  Are they genuine fears that defeat and/or relegation might reflect badly on the city the football club represents?  Or is it more personal in that one`s own `status` is somehow diminished in the eyes of others?  

Anyway, it was a bit of a worry when the Premier League recommenced its business in the last day or so and the Saints were drawn to play away at Norwich City last evening before an expectant world wide audience from 171 countries.  And, indeed, all those anxieties came back to haunt me once again.  At my age I could do without it but I tell myself I`ll be alright once I grow up.  So, true to form, I timed my dog walk last evening to enable me to avoid having to watch the game on TV - it was a lovely evening, the walkies was fine but all the way round I was wondering what the outcome might be when I got home and heard the result.

I needn`t have worried.   The Saints romped to a convincing 3-0 win and have therefore pretty much ensured their stay in the looking glass world of the Premier League for another season - one more win from the remaining eight matches should see us home and my blood pressure restored to manageable proportions.  The consequence is, of course, having asked myself whether I want to give up on football, the Premier League and Southampton FC in particular, I shrugged my shoulders, said to myself, "Well, alright then" and returned to being  seduced by the uncertainty of it all and the strange loyalty, not to say affection I have for the club that chose me as a supporter back in 1946.

PROUD TO BE A SAINT...

There`s been a lot of fuss in recent days about the way in which Premier League clubs have responded to the corona virus pandemic.   Now in their looking glass world you would expect - and you have not been disappointed - that some of the `solutions` to the current difficulties have ranged from the bizarre to the downright unacceptable.

However, my own club, Southampton, have until now been conspicuous by their silence but today they have issued the following club statement, the contents of which are a source of admiration and pride in a club which knows how to do things properly......

Southampton Football Club has agreed to put in place the following measures as part of its ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In keeping with government advice, all activity at Staplewood Campus, St Mary’s Stadium and our other sites continue to be suspended except for essential activities. This situation will be reviewed at the end of April.

In addition, the board of directors, the first-team manager, his coaching staff and the first-team squad have agreed to defer part of their salaries for the months of April, May and June to help protect the future of the club, the staff that work within it and the community we serve.

Furthermore, the club can confirm that it will not use the government’s Job Retention Scheme during April, May and June. Our owners, Mr. Gao and Katharina Liebherr, have put measures in place to ensure that all staff not deferring part of their salaries will continue to receive 100% of their pay, paid in the normal way until 30th June. Any decision on the future beyond this date will be made in advance of this, but only when more information is known.

In these unprecedented times we are dealing with many challenges to our business model and day-to-day operations. The situation is ever-evolving and we will continue to monitor and assess the impact to the club over the coming weeks before deciding any further action necessary.

Everyone at the club remains fully committed to the community we value so highly in Southampton. We will continue to offer our full support to the city of Southampton through the work of the Saints Foundation and provide any further assistance we can.

We ask everyone connected to the club and the city of Southampton to listen and adhere to the government’s advice.

Meanwhile, we will continue to prepare our club for a return to the pitch and make sure that, when safe, we are ready to play and serve the people of Southampton again.

Until then, We March On. Together.

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY...

......I made what for me was something of a pilgrimage.  Now I don`t normally make a habit of going to London;  I know that the last time I went there was just before the 2012 Olympics to attend the dedication of a memorial in Kensall Green cemetery to John McDouall Stuart, unsung hero of Australian exploration - responsible for establishing the route of the telegraph line from south to north on what is now the Stuart Highway.  He was a hero of mine and, as a member of the John McDouall Stuart Society,  I felt privileged to be invited to attend that ceremony in his honour.

Before that, my previous venture to the capital was my pilgrimage to Wembley Stadium to watch other heroes of mine, the Saints of Southampton FC, winning the Johnstone`s Paint Trophy by beating Carlisle United 4-1 in front of a packed stadium which included 44,000 Saints fans.

My journeys to London have always been wracked with uncertainty as they represent a logistical challenge as well as being pitchforked into a culture which is a million miles away from the peace and serenity of the Kentish enclave I call home.  No matter, when the Saints reach a Wembley final, you`ve just got to make the effort.  So I did - and it comprised driving to Watford of all places, getting a train from there to Wembley, grabbing a Greggs `lunch,` meeting up with my crew in the Green Man and taking my seat in the higher reaches of the national stadium.

It was a terrific day out - topped off by the Saints` win with goals from Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Michail Antonio (yes, that one) and Papa Waigo although arguably one of the defining images of the day was seeing the joy on the face of the club`s owner, the late lamented Markus Liebherr, taking a photo on his little camera to capture the moment.    He more than anyone was responsible for rescuing the club from administration and setting it on a course that would see them climb from the bottom of League One (where they were that season) back to the Premier League.

The journey home, after yet more celebrations in the Green Man with the Codgers crew, was simply a return journey back on the train to Watford and then negotiating the M25 back home to Kent and I have only been back to London once since then - not sure I`ve missed much -  but now and again I dig out my collection of Saints matchday programmes where pride of place goes to the one recapturing that memorable day out ten years ago today.

And, of course, when it came to painting my garage floor I had to use Johnstone`s paint.

.....or so it seems.   Stuff is happening in the garden, the birds are doing their thing and in the last couple of days I have detected the threatening drone of mowers mowing.

Not that I`m complaining - I have spent months longing for the days to get longer, the temperature to return to being bearable and for the gloom of my Sadness to begin to lift.  And yet..... and yet I look around the world and I seem to be invaded by stories, news reports and events, dear boy, events that all conspire to suggest that, despite the green shoots of early Spring, there are a lot of things to concern my furrowed brow.

The corona virus of course - and the worry it brings especially to us over-80s (*cough cough*) - but I have been intrigued, but not really surprised, by the amount of panic buying, aka selfish buying of things like toilet rolls.   It comes to something when the shelves in the Saffron Walden branch of Waitrose are empty, so I`m going to stockpile the daily newspaper which can be cut up into neat squares and hung on a nail in the smallest room.  I guess the best newspaper to buy for that emergency would be the Guardian?  Funny how, as soon as HM Gov. says there`s no need to panic, everybody immediately panics.

My biggest issue today, however, is the news that broke over the weekend that Southampton Football Club is once again up for sale.  It seems our current owner, one Mr. Gao all the way from China, has had enough of not investing any of his money since he took over the club and is apparently surprised that the team are nowhere near qualifying for Europe or, for that matter, nowhere clear of relegation. 

Rumours are spreading as to who might be interested in purchasing the club - mega rich billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has been mentioned as he lives in the New Forest despite the fact that he already owns Nice FC in France along with the Ineos cycling outfit and is allegedly a big Chelsea fan.  Then there is our new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, who genuinely is a massive Saints fan so maybe we will hear something in his first ever Budget speech on Wednesday.  

There is much more I could go on about but I will end for now by sharing my dismay that we might be seeing Harry and Meghan on these shores for the last time.  It`s enough to escalate the country`s mental health issues to unprecedented levels but I`m sure there are helpline numbers we can ring if it all gets too much to bear.

Off to do some mowing.  Have a nice day.

ANOTHER RECORD TO CHERISH ?

I think I`ve arrived at that stage where there is no point in being cross about it.  Instead, as Southampton FC lurch to yet another home defeat, this time at the hands of Everton, I seem to have been overcome by a feeling of almost benign amusement.  Yesterday`s game was billed as yet another in a long line of `must win six pointers` but the 2-1 home defeat leaves the Saints next to bottom of the Premier League with the worst goal difference in the league.  

Moreover, following the recent 9-0 stuffing by Leicester City which made history by being the record home defeat by any team ever in the history of the Premier League, yesterday`s defeat set yet more milestones in what is becoming a season to forget.  It marked the worst ever start to a season in over 130 years of competitive football for the Saints and the return of only one point from six home matches played so far has equalled that set by Blackpool way back in the 1930s.   So history continues to be made.

Just a few miles up the road from Southampton is the small village of Blackfield, where I spent much of the war in an aunt`s house with my mother whilst my father was away being a prisoner of war for five years.  I played my first football there at the age of about five which I imagine is when the romance with the game may have started.   

Blackfield and Langley (the adjoining hamlet) now have a team playing in the Southern League South Division and yesterday they had a replay against Truro City in the FA Trophy qualifying round, having drawn at Truro in the week. In front of a recorded `crowd` of 57,  Blackfield won 3-1 and so not only did Truro have to wearily trudge the 200 and more miles back home but it also marked another disappointment in my affection for the Cornish White Tigers despite my divided loyalties on this occasion.

The good news is that Gillingham went all the way to Sunderland on Friday night and came away with a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup, so my neighbour will be `up for it` when the replay takes place at Priestfield nextTuesday evening. Wimbledon too had a 1-1 draw in the Cup at at home against Doncaster Rovers, so our street`s local hero Scott ("Buzzin` Six-pack") Wagstaff and his chums have to make the journey to the Don Valley Stadium for their replay also next Tuesday evening.   Forest Green Rovers had a 4-0 win in the Cup against Billericay and Maidstone pulled off a surprise 1-0 win against Torquay United.

So it`s not all bad then.  Just most of it.

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 !!

GOODBYE OLD FRIEND...

It must have been all of fifteen years ago, maybe more, that I shivered my way through a game at St. Mary`s in the dead of winter.  After the game I ventured in to the club shop and being something of a fashion icon I treated myself to a nice warm Saints fleece.  It has served me very well - a good return on the investment - and it has seen me through the rigours, the triumphs and disasters and the ups and downs of being a Saints fan. 

Together we have been through a lot - to the bottom of League One, the eventual promotion to the Championship, promotion again to the promised land of the Premier League and, along the way, memorable visits to Wembley. So it has been an interesting journey we have made together.   Sadly, in recent times my faithful companion has begun to show his age.  Like me, the odd bit has become frayed around the edges and the wear and tear of being my protective shield  has begun to show itself more and more.

Sadly, in the last couple of days, after a prolonged battle with ups and downs of its own, the zip has finally conked out and I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that its time has come to an end.   Despite the fact that the club badge is still gleaming it`s  a bit like Charlie Austin`s knees, it has been on its last legs for a while and reaching the end if its useful life.  So to save it from further unnecessary pain the kindest thing to do is to say `goodbye.` 

I`m reluctant to chuck it in the bin and it wouldn`t be much good to anyone rummaging through a charity bag or a jumble sale so I may just keep it in the shed, where I can kiss the badge occasionally and look back on all those years of bewilderment and uncertainty that just comes with supporting Southampton FC.  But thank you for the ride - it`s been great. 

Well, some of it.

....and I genuinely hope that 2019 is a kind and good year for you, your family and friends.   

2018 was an `iffy` year for us.  We lost our much loved golden retriever Barney early in the year but we now have the latest in our long line of retrievers in the form of Dudley who is now eight months old and whilst still learning the trade seems to be coming along nicely.

While the world seems intent on seeing in the new year with a cacophony of fireworks, sensitive souls like Dudley just can`t understand why there are so many menacingly loud crashes, bangs and wallops so close to home.   I suspect we will have a late night nursing him through the celebratory din.  But, hey-ho it is new year after all and I guess, like Christmas, it will come and it will go like all the others.

The advent of Dudley meant that our holiday jaunts were restricted to just two in the year - one in April to Padstow not long after we had lost Barney, so it was not the same walking the Cornish cliffs without his company.  The second was to the New Forest in June, at the end of which we picked Dudley up from the breeder and brought him home.  

Get tonight over with and we can start again with a new year which, all being well, will bring my 80th birthday and no doubt another anxious, stressful time as the Saints, true to form, battle once more against relegation.   But there is summer to look forward to - long, warm sunny days, the cricket world cup and hopefully the occasional visit to Canterbury to see how Kent fare in the first division of the county championship. Simple pleasures are often the best ones.

All good wishes for 2019.  See you next year. Possibly.

"Listen very carefully;  I shall say this only once..."

So, the brave new world of Southampton FC didn`t quite go to plan yesterday, resulting in a narrow 1-0 loss away at Cardiff City.  That`s still only one win in 16 Premier League matches so far this season and must have given our latest manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl not only food for thought but also wondering what on earth he`s doing here.

The solitary Cardiff goal came courtesy of a South Wales deluge and some spectacularly inept `defending` from Saints` `central defender` Jannik Vestergaard who somehow contrived to pass back to his goalkeeper only for the ball to get stuck in an obliging puddle, leaving the Cardiff striker free to plant the ball in the back of the net beyond the despairing clutches of the Saints` custodian.

Herr Hasenhuttl seems an affable fellow - speaks good English, very personable, says all the right things and promises to shake things up and deliver us from evil. We`ll see.  He needs time and patience to turn things around and I just hope that both of those commodities are not in short supply.  He says that his name translates to `a little rabbit shed` - I think he means rabbit hutch, hence the illustrative tribute above.  

Just as well we didn`t appoint Herr Flick of the Gestapo; that would perhaps have been a step too far.  But I can imagine that Herr Hasenhuttl  addressing his downcast charges on Monday morning in the determinedly forceful style displayed in his first press conference,    " Gid moaning.  Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once.   What I saw on Saturday in Cardiff was, how you say, krap?  From now on you will work harder, run further and faster than ever before, hone what skills you might have and fight for the right to wear the shirt. If you don`t like it, can`t measure up, you will not be here for very long and we will get people in who want to be here and play their socks off for this famous and wonderful club."

Or something like that.   Something needs to happen and fast.  The Saints are next to bottom of the league and it seems unlikely that they will pick up any more points this calendar year than the paltry nine they have already garnered, facing Arsenal next, then away to Huddersfield, then West Ham and Manchester City at home.   relegation looks ominously likely unless rabbit hutch manager can pull off a miracle.

No wonder I am experiencing developing mental health issues. What`s more, just to add to my sense of foreboding I`m sure I saw a piece of plastic today and I sensed that the world got a teeny bit warmer too.   Nurse!!!!

As Herman`s Hermits would have it, "Woke up this morning, feeling fine.  There`s something special on my mind......."   and so on.   Maybe he was on to something good.  But then  there were the Mamas and Papas - "Monday, Monday.  Can`t trust that day.   Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way......"

So I guess you never know what Monday might bring.  As for me, it brought the chilling experience of catching BBC Breakfast which confirmed the feeling that Monday mornings are not helped by being confronted by the pompous, overbearing Naga Munchetty doling out the news of the day.

Things took a not unexpected turn when it was reported that Saints manager Mark *"Sparky" Hughes had been `relieved of his duties,` along with his coaching chums Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki following a depressingly underwhelming start to the football season which has so far resulted in one solitary win from 14 games played.

Now being a kind hearted fellow, I thought I should feel some sympathy for them but since they signed three year contracts a mere six months ago and will thus be fully compensated  at the going rate for dismissing Premier League managers and assistants, I doubt they will stare abject penury in the face.  Such are the rewards for dismal failure in the parallel universe of the Premier League.

Attention now turns to who will be the next incumbent for the helter- skelter merry-go-round in the managerial hotseat of the south coast`s finest club.   Rumour has it that it might fall to one Ralph Hasenhuttl, late of Red Bull Leipzig.  (No, I hadn`t either.  But then it is Monday.)