No. 74: St. Mary's Stadium [Southampton]

Sunday, 30th November 2014
Southampton v. Manchester City [Premier League] 0-3

That's three games in a row the home team I've visited have lost. Bad omen coming soon to a ground near you!!!

I only decided to go to Southampton on Friday. I didn't think I had a spare Sunday but I suddenly did - and managed to side-step Saints' ticketing policy on Category A games (where they only sell tickets to people already on their database) by ringing them up and pleading with them.

"PLEASE can you sell me a ticket to your not-sold-out game at £42 plus £2.50 booking fee?"
"Yes sir, no problem."

Money talks in the Premier League.

Not only is Southampton the closest ground to home left on my 92 list, it's also a city close to me personally - having been my home between the ages of 2-6. My parents ran a pub called The Fighting Cocks in a rough 'n' ready part of town - Millbrook - in the early 80's, so I decided to stop off there on the way to St. Mary's and have a walk down memory lane.

McDonalds Millbrook: Built upon my childhood memories.

Sadly, what I found was the home that framed my earliest memories of life has been razed to the ground to make way for a McDonalds and a KFC.

This was quite a depressing state of affairs. I felt I had to go inside for some reason, although Christ knows what I thought I'd find.

Yep, it was a standard McDonalds, and I ate the loneliest Quarter-Pounder of my life in there as I remembered frolicking in the pub's back yard with my pet dog 30 years ago, just yards away from where I was sat now.

Right opposite where the Fighting Cocks used to be was another pub, The Royal Oak. The original building of this estate pub was still there, but it was now a Tesco's.

I stopped an elderly gentleman named Dennis outside and asking him how long ago the Fighting Cocks had been knocked down. He wasn't sure, but it was at least 15-20 years ago now. We chatted a bit about what else had changed (a lot), and I found out that Dennis had lived in Millbrook since 1950 and was a Season Ticket holder at St Mary's, and off to the game this afternoon too.

The Cranes of Southampton Docks: Big.

I wished him well and set off onto the Millbrook flyover, having a quick look at my old primary school on the way, which looked like it had shrunk somewhat since I was 5. This part of Southampton is very close to the docks, and the cranes tower over the tower blocks and residential streets. I remembered how I used to look out of my bedroom windows and be mesmerised by their scale as a kid.

They are probably even bigger now, and serve to remind that Southampton has it's roots very much as a working man's city, every bit as much as the chimneys of Northern industrial towns do the same. It's not all Howard's Way down here you know.

River Itchen, Southampton City: It's all about boats.

That said, I parked my car about 15mins walk from the ground on the North Bank of the River Itchen and the walk across the bridge afforded some gorgeous views of the fishing boats and barges marooned in the mud-flats at low tide. This city is surrounded by water and it's heart has saltwater pumping through it.

I knew a few Saints fans through England away games, and arranged to meet up for a few beers with them in the City Centre pre-match, which was a pleasant stroll through leafy Palmerston Park to Above Bar Street, which rather aptly had a number of bars on it (albeit at the side of the street rather than above it).

Palmerston Park, Southampton City Centre.

Southampton are having a pretty good year, having had a pretty good one last year too. Finishing an unexpected 8th last year, this year they have pushed on despite losing their manager and most of last season's starring cast. It's still early days of course, but going into today's game still 2nd in the Premier League is certainly going great guns - especially when you remember that just over 3 years ago Southampton were still a League One side.

Southampton's rapid fall and even more rapid rise back through the leagues is reasonably unprecedented. Going from the Premier League to League One and back again in 7 seasons means that their fans have had the chance to knock off an awful lot of the 92. I don't know many who have done as many as I now have, but all of the guys I met with today are in the high 80s and will be pushing me to join the club first I think.

It's a shame you can't include ex-League grounds in your 92 Club list - or I'd have passed it long before now, and in fact the 1st ground I ever visited was Southampton's old place, The Dell. Well, St. Mary's is certainly a far cry from their former home.

Opened in 2001, like an awful lot of grounds I have visited and will be visiting, this is one of your classic late 90s-early 2000's new builds - an identikit wrap-around bowl all-seater, with filled in corners and cantilever stands.

I mean, yes - it isn't really anything all that different anymore. When it was built, as one of the first in this style, it probably was something to behold.

13 years later, and all 4 top divisions of English football now littered with variations on this  meme, it doesn't really feel special to a neutral I'm afraid. Give me The Dell back any day.

But as this is a club steeped in top-league tradition (their 2005 relegation being their first in 27 years), you can understand why remaining at The Dell, reduced to a 15,000 capacity when all-seater stadiums were forced on English football, was untenable.

St. Mary's today holds over double that, is just as accessible on foot from the city centre as The Dell was, and they are filling it out ever week playing attractive, attacking Premier League football - and I think most fans are happy enough with that.

Looking towards the Northam Stand behind the goal.

Sadly today's game didn't quite go as planned for the team that started the day in 2nd place, as they finished it in 3rd, overtaken by the visitors. Southampton had some good spells but weren't clinical enough with the handful of chances they did have, and were put in their place a little by the Champions come the 2nd half, being caught twice on the break late in the last 10 mins despite City only having 10 men for the final 16 mins following Mangala's sending-off.

The League's top scorer Sergio Aguero didn't add to his tally but did provide all 3 assists, and all this after being wrongfully booked in the 1st half for diving.

The Chapel (South) Stand.

There was even time for 56 year old Frank Lampard to bang in a very Frank Lampard-Esque low hard drive into the bottom corner in the 80th minute. For a neutral, despite it looking a bit lop-sided by the end, it was an entertaining game.

I half-expected a few boos from home fans at the final whistle - they'd lost 3-0 after all and had shown a lack of invention in much of the 2nd half when unable to break down a sturdy City back line. But nothing of the sort - Saints fans are a realistic bunch and losing at home by any scoreline to the League champions is no disgrace, even with their own current vaulted position in the table.

Saints have a free kick attempt on goal in the 1st half.

After all - Southampton are still on track for a great season, even if they don't finish as high as they are now. They are in the Quarter-Finals of the League Cup with a good chance of winning it, and all the fans I spoke to would rather win that than finish 2nd.

After all - no-one remembers who finishes 2nd, do they? Saints did themselves in 1984 to Liverpool. I didn't know that, so that proves this point!

I'm not sure if I asked fans of clubs that represent the "Big Four" of the last 15 years they would feel similarly. I think for Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea & Arsenal fans, league-placing is everything.

Perhaps most Southampton fans have a bit more realism and humbleness about them thanks to their recent stint of yo-yoing through the Divisions. It serves them well.

Is the sun setting on Southampton's Indian Summer? No fear.

With thanks to Dan Armstrong (@danarm91), Matt Marchant, Tom Menzies & of course, Dennis from Millbrook!

NEXT UP: Weekend Double-Header!
Preston North End, Dec 6th
Barnsley, Dec 7th