I was there that day in the stands at Saint Mary’s – the day Saints began their re-ascension into the heavens of English football. At that point, as good as they were, it was hard to imagine in three short seasons to follow that Southampton Football Club would be back amongst the Football Association’s elite, and punching well above their weight.
The date was May 7, 2011. A dense slab of grey clouds hovered over the South coast of England. Walsall were in town to conclude the final match day of the League One season. As the story goes, Southampton was to qualify for automatic promotion in second position unless by some divine intervention Huddersfield Town were able to make up a baker’s dozen and a half goals in their final fixture at home to visiting Brentford. The party had started already on my walk to the ground; wobbling Southampton supporters poured out of pubs on every street corner to join the main vein of vocal red and white stripes flowing to the match. Street vendors were having a clinic with everything on show from flags to commemorative pins. Special scarves were stitched for the occasion, one of which hangs above my work desk – “PROMOTION SEASON 2010-2011 CHAMPIONSHIP HERE WE COME!” It was my only souvenir, but only one of countless memories.
Upon entering St. Mary’s Stadium, which replaced the notorious Dell in 2001, fans were in full voice. Emerging out into the cool spring air in sight of the pitch from the claustrophobic warm hallways underneath, the ambience sharpened. The stadium roared like a great beast from every terrace, a deafening howl I’ll never forget. “Oh when the Saints!” they sang.
Walsall’s support was crammed into their modest corner section, shoulder to shoulder and back to chest. There was an understandably apprehensive feeling about them, as if they were satellite novelty chess club at their first high school party. They were sitting uncomfortably on the line above relegation, only a point better than Dagem & Red, awaiting results elsewhere as much as the one about to see. Having reached my seat, only a row up from the midfield line, pitch level, there was a white sheet of paper folded on top of it. I revealed its message that instructed me to hold it high and proud above my head as the players made their way out. Moments later I did.
Out marched the Saints onto the accomplished work of the St. Mary’s ground crew. Red and white stripes painted over the supporters by section in a Nou Camp-esque mosaic draped around Saint Mary’s. Southampton was robed with an all white kit with white shorts and black socks. A red diagonal stripe reached down from the right shoulder, a retro jersey to celebrate 125 years of the club. An unknowing Spanish fan could mistake them as Rayo Vallecano. Amongst the team were some names you might recognize. Leading goal scorer Rickie Lambert received the loudest ovation. His contribution of 51 goals in his first two seasons on the South coast hadn’t gone unnoticed. There was a new hero in Matt Le Tissier’s number 7 shirt. Also in the team that day was Adam Lallana, now age 25 and the club captain, his more recent performances have earned him a handful of caps for England like his teammate, Lambert. Still an outside shot for a ticket to Brazil, but his jinky playing style and unpredictability could give Roy Hodgson’s team another dimension.
Also standing in the ranks were still established players, Jose Fonte and a 21-year old Morgan Schneiderlin. I said it that day: ‘That number 4 in the middle of the park has bossed this game, best player in my opinion.’ And after their first year back in the big leagues last season, the club thought so as well. Schneiderlin collected both players’ and fans’ player of the year prize at the Southampton end of the season awards banquet. He has a quiet way about him but it doesn’t match his impact. He’s collective on the ball and carefully picking his passes. Sitting for the most part, he makes playing midfield look easy but that’s only because he thinks the game quicker than those around him. And when you finally think you have a grasp on where he’s going to be, he’ll surge forward and pop up on the attacking side of things. It’s like trying to catch smoke.
The match was the icing on the cake for Nigel Adkins, then manager. A comfortable 3-1 win left open the floodgates for supporters from every angle of the ground to come crashing onto the turf like a tidal wave when the final whistle sounded, myself included. The euphoric scenes are a blur of red and white in my memory, lifting Lambert onto the shoulders of supporters. Not just saints but gods. It was something to celebrate after a half decade of financial ruination and tragic relegations. I managed to snap the picture below in the chaos.
Saints goal scorers that afternoon included David Connolly, Guly Do Prado, and a young substitute you may not heard of named Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He only took ten minutes to find his goal and boy, did he ever make the most of it. I had the angle from where I was sitting. The player cut in from the corner of the penalty area onto his left foot and curled an absolute diamond into the top corner. Saint Mary’s exploded. The “Ox” peeled off in stride to the corner before belly-sliding to the flag. It was his last ever game as a Southampton player.
I consider myself lucky to have been there to whitness it but most were there to see it twice. A year later it all happened again. Same faces in the crowd, same manager, and same players apart from few. Saints were back, back in the Premier League.
Great anticipation surrounded Southampton as they were to play their first fixture in the top flight in seven years. Against who? The champions, Manchester City away. And although Adkins and his men weren’t able to pick up any points on the occasion, merit was still to be earned. Unlike so many promoted teams still feeling their way into the Premier League like Scooby Doo’s Velma in search of her glasses, Saints went for the throat. What did they have to lose? Having gone a goal behind via Carlos Tevez just before halftime, Southampton not only clawed their way back into things but over things as well. Four minutes into his Premier League debut as a substitute, none other than Rickie Lambert equalized on 59 minutes, followed by a goal by new signing Steven Davies roughly ten minutes later. It wasn’t meant to be with Dzeko and Nasri saving the home side from some flush blushes but it was a message to the rest of the league that Saints weren’t kidding around.
However, like all teams promoted, there are challenges of adaption to be met at the highest level and that momentum from promotion only lasts for so long. Defensive inconsistencies poked holes in the southerners’ sails and even though goals were being scored, they were flying in at the other end as well. Southampton conceded 14 goals in their first four league matches of the season, confining them to a relegation battle from the starting line.
There were signs of improvement as the winter grew colder. The newcomers fought back from two goals down at Stamford Bridge to earn a draw but the board had its mind made up by that time and Nigel Adkins never managed for Saints again. Supporters were outraged for they had grown very fond of a man who steered their club from League One to the Championship to the Premier League. Nonetheless, there aren’t many complaining now.
Mauricio Pochettino, former manager of Spanish side RCD Espanyol, has revolutionized Saints and the way in which they defend specifically, frantically and higher up. Adkins’ edition of Southampton could score but just as well be scored against. By defending adamantly and with harassing pressure from where the ball was turned over, the results started to come, the results that kept them up last season – 3-1 over Liverpool, 3-1 v Manchester City, 2-1 against Chelsea, and 2-0 away at fellow relegation scrappers Reading.
Mourinho recommended the Premier League to Pochettino so the Argentine says. Job done keeping Saints afloat last but the real question was as to how would he react in his first transfer window? Boldly. You might think a man who is still yet to give his post match pressers in English would be a bit shy but the manger made waves in the summer with the purchase of Italian international Dani Osvaldo of Roma for £12.8 million and standout Croatian Dejan Lovren for an undisclosed fee estimated at £8.5 million from Lyon. Despite the high profile buys, the manager is still giving a chance to Southampton’s homegrown youth, which has always produced ripe fruit. The likes of Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier, more recently Gareth Bale, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and now Luke Shaw and James Ward-Prowse.
Although Osvaldo is still finding his feet in English football, Lovren has, on the whole of things, been Southampton’s best player this season solidifying that backline like a commanding general. Up until the 3-1 loss to Chelsea this past weekend, Southampton had buffed out their defensive dings from last season and only conceded 6 goals in the entirety of the Premier League. Those results include a 1-0 scalp at Anfield and a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford where Lallana got the final touch in the 89th minute to rescue a point. The goals have been arriving at a more modest pace but were being conceded at a very slow rate. All of a sudden and against all odds Saints had broke into the top four and were astonishingly second for a brief spell in November. When asked in early October if he thought Saints had a chance to reach the Europa League, Pochettino surprised everyone with his answer – “I think we are all attracted to the Champions League.” He must not have been joking.
The center back partnership of Jose Fonte and Dejan Lovren has rigged a natural understanding while two youthful promising English fullbacks maraud up and down the sidelines in Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw. Artur Boruc has brushed critics aside this season with some tremendous performances but things have gone sour since the walls came crashing down at the Emirates Stadium in mid November, a game in which the Polish goalkeeper presented a dismal rendition of the Cruyff and gifting an early Christmas present to Olivier Giroud.
Things started brightly, almost blindingly at Chelsea when a Michael Essien misskick landed gleefully for Jay Rodriguez to tuck past Petr Cech after 13 seconds (speaking of Christmas presents), but the stitching started to come undone when Boruc fractured his right hand in attempt to keep Gary Cahill from equalizing after halftime; he was unsuccessful. John Terry pulled the Blues ahead shortly after to celebrate his 400th Premier League appearance with Chelsea and Southampton was doomed by a late goal from Demba Ba, their defense looking visibly rattled without the organization of Boruc behind. And to make matter worse, Morgan Schneiderlin also limped off the field at Stamford Bridge with some very noticeable discomfort.
Paulo Gazzaniga was Boruc’s replacement for the rest of the affair at Stamford Bridge and for the latest fixture at home against Aston Villa. Sadly, the 21-year old Argentine has seen five whiz past him in that short stint. Nathaniel Clyne picked up a knock against Villa too. Saints were their own undoing in that match by conceding two goals very cheaply. Jose Fonte was initially given the evening off in what should have been a very handle-able match for Maya Yoshida but the Japanese international was at the heart of the blame for Villa’s first two goals. No one was putting a stop to Fabian Delph’s howitzer to win the match but Southampton let themselves down in a winnable fixture at home. This is the first time since Pochettino took charge that Southampton have lost three in a row.
There’s a formative test of valor on the horizon. With injuries spreading through the camp like a plague, do Saints have the depth to keep rolling with the punches after one of their best ever starts? The fixture list poses its threats. Next up on the weekend, Manchester City are due for a visit to St. Mary’s followed by a long haul journey North to see a certain Newcastle side that has been in merry form recently. Before Christmas, Tottenham will stop by before back-to-back away fixtures, Cardiff City on Boxing Day and to Goodison Park to take on Everton three days later. Then it’s the return of Chelsea, only this time at home on New Years Day.
Southampton supporters have come again to enjoy a degree of success in recent years but the benchmarks gets loftier and loftier the higher you climb. Will Saints rise to yet another occasion and prove that this will be another year to achieve something to cherish or have they reached their pinnacle of their rise from League One? I believe between now and January 1st will dictate how the rest of Southampton’s season plays out.
Steve Bruce, gaffer at Hull City, seemed more than optimistic for the South coasters after his squad were manhandled 4-1 back on November 9th.
"The better team on the day by a million miles won the game. Maybe Southampton are not a small club anymore and maybe they do have enough to compete at the top end of the table."
I might not have thought so back in 2011 but they are making a case now. I know for a fact I would have called the bull if someone told me that day that Saints would be above Manchester United in the Premier League table by December 2013. So maybe there are still some surprises yet to come.
