'Sup footie nuts?
Southampton
FC is back in the Premier League! When
the Saints go marching in! I for one, have a real soft spot for The Saints.
There’s just something about them that makes me want to see them do well, for
them to remain in the premier league. But why though? What could it be? Could
it be that they have a real penchant for beating Manchester United? Could it be
that one of my favourite players in the Premier League graced the Red and White
stripes… Matt Le Tissier? Or could it possibly be that the terrible TV pundit
Terry Paine resides in South Africa but goes back so often to wave at the St
Mary’s crowd?
It could be
all of that, but I don’t think it is. I think it has more to do with the fact
that they really are the perfect description for “Underdogs” or an even more
perfect example of an entity to “Rise above the odds”. What do I mean? Well let
me explain.
At the end
of the 2008/2009 season, not only were Southampton relegated to League One, but
they were also handed a heavy 10 point deduction for the start of the following
season due to the parent company falling into administration. Luckily for The
Saints, they had been bought not too long after, by the now deceased Markus
Liebherr. With his funds, and current Newcastle boss Alan Pardew’s legendary
transfer dealings, things were looking up. Pardew brought in 12 new players for
just over £3Million. A substantial amount
for a League One team. However, Pardew managed
to guide Southampton to only seventh in his first and only season and was sacked
shortly after the start of the 2010/2011 season. Three games after his
departure, The Saints made an offer for Scunthorpe’s gaffer (read carefully)
Neil Adkins.
In his
first season in charge, he guided them to a promotion position and followed
that up with getting The Saints promotion to The Championship. And we all know
what happened last season. They finished runner up to Reading FC and promotion
to the Premier League. There are two things that stand out about last season’s
achievements BESIDES their promotion.
1. They were NEVER outside the top 2
after their opening day loss to Leeds United.
2. They got back to back promotions
under Adkins.
To focus a
bit on the last point. We’ve seen teams before get back to back promotions. But
it’s usually from League Two to The Championship.
What Adkins
did with Southampton, was take them League One to the Premier League. In the
space of two seasons. The question I ask, can they survive the drop this
season? Uhm, how dare you?! They are
Southampton! Underdogs who Rise above the odds!
Do the math…
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