A View from the Chapel :: Wessex Scene Online

A View from the Chapel

9th October 2007
Phil Webb

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Nov 06 - Suffering Saints stumbling
Oct 07 - Changing for the better?
Mar 08 - ACTIVE Southampton
Jan 08 - Sport in Brief
Mar 07 - Solent stagnation may leave clubs cheerless

More by Phil Webb

As the Red and White army embraced 3 games in 8 days, I’d been holding off writing the article for as long as possible. Having pencilled a rough outline, only one word has changed, the Saints start to the season has been ‘dreadful’ rather than ‘poor’.

Two wins from eight, one of those against a shell-shocked QPR still reeling from the death of young striker Ray Jones and conceding 17 goals against some very normal teams.

In a way, it’s just what I expected too; Last year climaxed, in the 4-4 aggregate score and being knocked out on penalties against Derby in the play-off semi-final. Being brutally honest about 2006/07, although the season started brightly without the late surge in May, the average fan would say we laboured getting there. So, if we scraped 6th last year and we sell four of our best players, how were we ever going to improve?

You expect comings and goings, the extent of the Southampton transfer merry-go-round was noted before the Watford game where only Nathan Dyer remained from the squad that played there under Burley in 2005. Keeping hold of Bale and Baird, was always going to be hard with Premiership interest, the rising star of Bale particularly. In a few years time I expect to look back and say I was glad to see one of the world’s greatest players in his early career. The exit of the ‘other’ Pele seemed strange, while not a super star, he had proved versatile, strong and confident on the ball.

The less I say about the departure of Kenwyne Jones the better, general feeling was best summated by the Northam Stand; "Kenwyne Jones, What a w*nker, what a w*nker". His acrimonious departure only reinforced the image of the modern footballer, stroppy, stupid and overpaid. Honestly, who goes on strike? Walking out on the club that picked him out of obscurity in Tobago and kept faith in training over the years. Sadly, given the club’s financial trouble, you can’t argue with Ł6 million, because at some points last year I would have sold him for a fiver.

So grudgingly I can accept we are now a selling club, but the quality of replacements has been poor, we walked into the first 3 games of the season without a defence. I could moan more and probably will on the terraces. I don’t think I have ever been less enthusiastic about the start of a season before, the only reason I’m still going is because I wouldn’t want John to sit on his own.

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