RETURN TO ST MARY'S
RETURN TO ST MARY’S
Capacity – 32,251 Record Crowd – 31,107 v Chelsea, August 25 2001
(Record Crowd at the Dell – 31,044 v Manchester United, October 1969)
Address: Southampton Football Club, The Friends Provident St.Mary’s Stadium, Brittania Road, Southampton SO14 5FP
Tel: 087 0220 0000 Fax: 023 8027 7727 Tickets: 087 0777 1000
E.mail sfc@saintsfc.co.uk www.saintsfc.co.uk
So we have finally done it. After 103 years of what Simon Inglis, author of ‘the Football Grounds of Britain’, termed ‘ruinous confinement’ at the Dell, Saints have moved to a new stadium. Many writers would use the adjective ‘purpose built’ here. Which I always find bemusing since the Dell, like the vast majority of grounds in England was ‘purpose built’ in the first place. The change is the football equivalent of trading in an old, tatty but much loved MGB for a brand new Ford Mondeo. An ageing example of British eccentricity and character has been replaced by something that is bright, modern and European, offering twice the capacity and indisputably much more sensible, efficient and comfortable. You just wonder if it will ever be capable of stirring the same feelings of love and affection as its predecessor.
For years the press have whinged about the Dell – I once overheard the erudite John Sadler of the Sun describe it as a ‘shithouse ground’ – and have insisted that we would eventually be relegated because of it. So have they welcomed St Mary’s? Of course not! Now the story is that we are going to be relegated because we have lost the Dell’s uniquely intimidating atmosphere. Now pardon me, but much loved as the Dell was, it was the Saints fans who created that atmosphere, and we intend to do the same for St Mary’s.
In any case, those who now see fit to moan about St Mary’s, saying ‘you can’t get there’, ‘you can’t park’, ‘you can’t get a burger at half-time’ are completely missing the point. Because to steal a phrase from Dr Johnson “Southampton having a new stadium is like a dog’s walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.” The site may not be ideal, but it was all that we were left with after looking at something like 20 sites in the past 50 years, including the heartache over the Community Stadium at Stoneham. So even though it may not have fitted the bill exactly, the move to St Mary’s had to be welcomed because it at last made our dream come true.
I think some Saints supporters were hoping that St Mary’s would be a panacea for the ills that have seen us flirt dangerously close with relegation in the past ten years – fortunately without consummation of the affair. However, it may well be that in the short term it could make things worse, and I doubt that a great deal more money will be made available to strengthen the side. We now have the potential for much larger attendances, but that extra money will soon be gobbled up by the debt we have taken on – St Mary’s has cost something like £32 million. That is small beer when a single world class player can cost £20 million, but it is still a huge amount for Saints. Nevertheless, we really had no choice. If we had stayed at the Dell then relegation would have come eventually and there would have been no way back, especially as the so-called big clubs are just itching to put restrictions on clubs wishing to join the Premiership, such as a minimum ground capacity. With St Mary’s, even if we were to lose our status in the top division, we now have the infrastructure in place that would make a return feasible.
Location, location, location
The Dell fitted very happily with the tabloid journalist’s lazy world model where Hampshire was full of ‘leafy lanes’. Well St Mary’s is very different. Because while most clubs wishing to move seem to want to quit a decaying urban site for an out of town development, Saints have transplanted themselves right into the inner city, on a (very) brownfield site that required major clearance of the residue of decades of gas production before building work could begin. On one side of the ground you have the run-down St Mary’s area, which it is hoped will be rejuvenated, and on the other you have the River Itchen. This means that if you thought the Dell was difficult to get to, then St Mary’s is positively inaccessible, since, from the North at least, you now have to come much further into the city to find it. It also goes without saying that parking is a bit of a challenge and the traffic can be heavy. On the other hand, the Stadium is actually much closer to the City Centre, which means that if you can manage to get yourself there, then you are only a few minutes walk away.
Football Combinations
No, not the late lamented reserve league. But a suggestion that thermal underwear may be a sensible investment this winter. The Dell was relatively sheltered, whereas St Mary’s is exposed to the chill winds that whip off the River Itchen – not something that bothered us in the heatwave conditions of the first game against Chelsea, but it could be a concern come November onwards.
Getting Tickets – Hanging on the telephone
At the time of writing it is difficult to judge what the availability of tickets will be, but since the new stadium doubles our capacity you should be in with a better chance than at the Dell (ie some compared with none). Although we can always hope that every game will be a sell-out, my feeling is that tickets for the premium games such as United, Liverpool and the fancy London clubs will indeed be at a premium. But for matches against Charlton, Ipswich and Blackburn etc they will probably be readily available, as I suspect we will do quite well to average 27,000 over the season.
Away fans, behind and to one side of the goal in the Northam (North) Stand, will get a fairly generous allocation of 3,200 tickets available direct from their own club, with I believe concessions for Children and Senior Citizens.
Tickets not sold to home season tickets holders are available first to members, then season ticket holders who want extra tickets and then to the general public. You can get your tickets by going along to the ticket office or by post, fax or telephone. The non-personal methods seem to have invoked all sorts of frustration in the build-up to the season, and there have been many reports of long fruitless hours trying to get through on the telephone – and when you do they charge you a pound extra handling charge. Let’s just hope these are teething problems.
The most expensive ticket, in the centre of the Kingsland and Itchen stands, is £29 for a ‘gold game’. Pretty dear compared with Manchester City’s brilliant value £11 last season, but cheap compared with London. The cheapest, for a child at a ‘bronze’ game is £12.50.
Touts have generally been a rare phenomenon at Southampton home games, apart from when Manchester United etc are in town, and I do not expect this to change, so for most games it is not really an option.
The Away Experience
As I have already said, away fans have got their own section in a prime position behind the goal in the Northam Stand, where the view and facilities will be as good as anywhere else. Saints fans harboured an early ambition to command both ends, but the police insisted that away fans should go into this area as it should make it easier to get them away quickly afterwards. The adjacent area is naturally going to be very popular with the home fans, mainly transplanted from the Dell’s Archers Road ‘Bikeshed’, and I expect this to be where most of the noise comes from.
Stand Up If You Love The Saints (But Sit Down If You Want To See)
There has been much lobbying for parts of St Mary’s to be designated as standing areas. I don’t think Saints are entirely unsympathetic to this, but safety legislation mean that they dare not give their consent. As things stand it seems that while standing is not actively encouraged in the Northam Stand it has become an unofficial area where a blind eye is turned. So if you get a ticket there expect to spend most of the game on your feet.
Elsewhere, St Mary’s is definitely an all-seater stadium. Now this may not be your cup of tea, but there is no denying that if everyone sits, then everyone sees. I have spent many guilty afternoons at away venues where thanks to a few people standing I could not see, but knowing that when I stood up the child or OAP behind me could not see . Over a period of time I guess that fans will gradually resolve themselves into active (ie leaping to their feet at every opportunity) and sedentary areas.
Look Out For
If you have seen Pride Park and The Riverside then St Mary’s will offer very little surprise. But in an attempt to differentiate the stadium Saints have commissioned an enormous glass sculpture incorporated in the wall of the Itchen Stand adjacent to the main entrance. The subject, a shadow of a generic footballer, has caused no little controversy because it does not feature traditional red and white stripes. To see it to best effect you have to view it at night when it is back-lit.
We Love
Matthew Le Tissier (assured of immortality thanks to the last gasp winner against Arsenal in the Dell’s last league game), Francis Benali (local lad made average), Dean Richards (for the moment),
We Love To Hate
Off The Pitch
For obvious reasons, in the past six months Spurs have propelled themselves from nowhere to public enemy number one. The Pompey loving Fred Dineage, the original role model for Alan Partridge is also particularly unpopular. We loathe Mark Lawrenson and Rodney Marsh - expert tipsters, Terry Venables – for what he did to Matty, and in fact any journalist apart from our own Southern Evening Echo’s Graham Hiley is treated with contempt.
On The Pitch
Emile Heskey (diver), Graham Le Saux (whinger), Patrick Vieira (boxer), David Elleray (idiot).
Is It Safe?
St Mary’s is not perhaps the most salubrious area of the city (prior to the advent of the stadium it was best known for its ‘specialist’ book shops), so I would advise a certain degree of caution. However in the hours immediately before and after the game when the crowds are about it should be ok. In the latter years at the Dell, although there were minor scuffles from time to time, major trouble was very rare. This may in part have been due to the reduced capacity, which meant that away fans were always heavily outnumbered. It remains to be seen what will happen in the new Stadium, but the Chelsea game passed with just a couple of arrests.
As with the Dell I suggest that as long as you exhibit due caution, and don’t come from Portsmouth, then you can look forward to a reasonably pleasant and untroubled visit.
One thing that has always wound Saints fans up is finding themselves sat next to ‘away’ fans. Unfortunately this is all too common given the number of locally based United and Chelsea fans. on the South Coast and I have fears that at some stage we might actually end up outnumbered in our own ground. I wouldn’t encourage the practice of away fans going in the wrong area, but who among us has not done this at one time or another? If you behave sensibly it really should not be a problem. But if you are seen as taking liberties, such as wearing the away team’s shirt and leaping to your feet when they score, then the home fans will be only too anxious to point you out to stewards – as a number of Chelsea fans will testify.
What’s in a name?
As my headline suggests, the move to the St Mary’s district of Southampton means that the club has returned to its roots. Because back in 1885 it was founded by the young men of St Mary’s Church, the mother church of Southampton, and in the early years was known as Southampton St Marys. This was shortened to Southampton FC, but the ‘Saints’ remained as the nickname. The church is actually just a few minutes walk from the ground
The official name of the stadium is ‘The Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium’. The club is very anxious to placate the sponsors by ensuring that the full name is always used, but they are fighting a battle that is already lost. Right from the start the site was known as St Mary’s and that is the way it will stay. Actually, the first name announced was ‘The Friends Provident Stadium’, but such was the furore that within days the club was saying that this was a ‘suggestion’ rather than an announcement, and the present compromise was reached. Actually, being of a somewhat cynical bent, I believe that the name we got was the name the club intended all along. But they knew that the attachment of the sponsors name was always going to accept some people, so they started off by announcing something that was completely unacceptable, so that when they came up with the compromise it would almost be welcomed. At least we are able to use a sensible name without mentioning a sponsor, not something that Bolton fans can do with their ‘Reebok Stadium’.
That deep thinking football philosopher Rodney Marsh has seen fit to mock the name St Mary’s as ‘effeminate’. Oh really? Compared to such macho names as ‘Anne Field’, ‘White Hart Lane’ and the ‘Boleyn Ground’.
Local Rivals
If any good has come out of the recent tragic death of Aaran Flahavan, a Southampton lad who played in goal for Pompey, it might have been a slight softening in the deadly relationship with our rivals just 20 miles along the South Coast. Indeed, Portsmouth supporters seem to have been genuinely impressed at the sorrow and respect shown by the Saints fans.
What does not help the rivalry is that competitive meetings between the two teams, just four in twenty years, have provided few opportunities to release the tension. In the pre and post war years Portsmouth were of course a major force, while Saints remained in the old second and third divisions. Since then they have declined, while our star has risen. We have met only twice in the top division, in 87-88, when they won at the Dell and we drew at Fratton Park. But we have won our last two encounters in the FA Cup (84 and 96).
It is probably the case that Portsmouth seems to hate us more than we hate them. Their term for Saints fans ‘Scummers’ seems to have achieved more widespread currency than our term of derision ‘Skates’. So much so that both sets of fans use ‘Scummer’ as abuse, as any ex-Pompey player visiting St Mary's will find out.
In the other direction we quite like Bournemouth, and wish them well, indeed at one stage a temporary groundshare was mooted while they reconstruct Dean Court. But strangely, the Bournemouth fans seem to hate us! Even so, while you will never find a dual Saints/Pompey fan there are a fair number of dual Saints/Cherries fans.
Do You Come From Southampton?
With the relegation of Coventry, Southampton now represents even more of an isolated outpost of Premiership football in a vast desert of Nationwide clubs. Draw a line underneath London, take it north through Birmingham and then via Manchester to Liverpool and there is no other Premiership side to the west of that line. So even though the majority of the home support were born, bred and live in the city, you will find quite a number of supporters drawn from this massive catchment area, with regular support from as far afield as Exeter, Brighton, Salisbury and Andover. There are also thriving supporters clubs in London and the Midlands, although most ‘out of towners’ will have some form of prior attachment to the city, since Saints have never really offered a great deal of satisfaction for your plastic glory seekers. One of the main reasons for non-Sotonians forming an attachment to Saints seems to be that they started watching the team when they were at University. And it does seem that once anyone starts watching the club they get hooked – hence the local saying ‘Once a Saint always a Saint’. Which also applies to players since so many retire to the area.
Along with Norwich City, Saints apparently have the oldest fans in England, but this is not a surprise considering how difficult it has been for any new fans to get tickets. In fact, the reduced capacity of the Dell means that we have lost at least one generation of fans who could claim quite accurately that they ‘might as well support United, because they have as much chance of seeing them play’.
Food and drink
St Mary’s Street, just a few minutes walk from the Stadium, offers a number of drinking establishments situated conveniently close to a variety of chip shops and kebab houses etc. It looks like the pubs will be packed out from 1pm onwards on Saturdays and at the moment I am not clear which, if any, would welcome away fans.
But you need not despair, because St Mary’s is really only around 10 minutes walk from the city centre where there are of course any number of pubs and restaurants as well as a shrine to the Golden Arches and Burger King. However, the early signs are that all the eating and drinking places in the City Centre are enjoying a boom time thanks to the new stadium, so you are advised to get there early.
Saints have apparently put a lot of work into the refreshment facilities at St Mary’s – the catering is by the same company that does Wimbledon (tennis and croquet not Selhurst Park) no less. Since the Dell was so cramped anything has to be an improvement, although there have already been complaints about service, with many fans missing the start of the second half against Chelsea because it took so long. When you do get it, the food is about par for course – eatable, although you would probably baulk at the price/quality anywhere else but a football ground.
FTT recommends
A very good pub for a pre-match drink is the Anchor, situated at the bottom of East Street, more or less opposite Debenhams and just before the entrance to the semi-deserted East Street Centre. This is apparently one of the oldest pubs in Southampton, and seems to have resisted updating. The usual pub grub is one offer at reasonable prices and there is even a beer garden at the rear, you may even be treated to the pianist ‘tinkling the ivories’. When you come out turn right into the East Street Centre, out the back entrance and under the underpass and you will emerge on Chapel Road (with St Mary’s Church on your left). The Stadium is literally a couple of minutes walk away as you simply continue down Chapel Road and then turn left into the industrial estate which brings you into Melbourne Street which runs to the corner of the Kingsland and Chapel Stands.
Can You Park It?
In a word – no. Some journalists have been keen to point out the absence of signs to the new Stadium. But I suppose you could argue that they would be futile since once you have got there parking is severely restricted. It seems that the site is way under the number of parking spaces that would normally be mandatory for this type of development, and a lot of creative work was done to magic up the right number through borrowing space from businesses, colleges and the University etc for match days. The various ‘park and walk’ and ‘park and ride’ schemes have been met with a certain level of scepticism, but they do seem to be working at the moment. Unfortunately, they are now fully subscribed, so the casual fan will either have to take their chances with the unofficial car parks which are already springing up (typically £5 a time) or they can try parking in the city centre car parks. Where we might see ‘melt down’ occur is for midweek games when the park and ride schemes will not operate. It is also worth noting that despite talk of ‘integrated transportation’, your bus ticket is not valid on a park and ride bus and vice-versa.
People are moaning about parking, but you show me a Stadium where parking is not an issue. Everyone always wants to park 5 to 10 minutes walk away, but if you can face a 20 minute walk, then parking can always be found and it will probably not cost you anything but shoe leather – you could even park in the area around the Dell and take a nostalgic walk from past to present.
There is a designated separate park and ride scheme for away fans, but so far I have not heard how well it works.
On your bike
If you are up to it, then you could always go by bike, since St Mary’s offers plenty of free parking for your trusty velocipede.
On the buses
I think I am right in saying that tickets for St Mary’s are unique in also including two tear off passes for bus travel within the city, one for the journey there, and one for the return. Like the park and ride schemes this is something of a sop to the planners who were concerned at the lack of parking at the stadium, so the idea (which has to be praised) is to get as many as people as possible on public transport. The only doubt about the scheme is if Southampton’s creaking bus services can cope, and there have been tales of supporters not being able to board buses, even though some way away from the Stadium, because they are already packed with fans coming from further afield.
Let The Train Take The Strain
The service to Southampton is not bad – when the trains can be bothered to run correctly – for example the frequent trains from Waterloo to Southampton Central should do the trip in around 70 minutes. The Dell was very handily placed for the station, being only a few minutes walk away. St Mary’s is a bit further, and although entirely walkable I would suggest that the 20 minutes quoted by the club is a tad optimistic. Your problem is in sorting out the route, because although it is actually straightforward once you know where you are going it is not immediately obvious, and since the stadium does not dominate the horizon you have no visual clues. Myself, if I was walking to St Mary’s from the station I wouldn’t start from there.
But fear not, because a free shuttle bus is available to anyone who already has a match ticket. It does seem to work quite well, even though early reports suggest that the stop is not that well sign-posted.
If you are intent on walking then your best bet is to head up the hill for the City Centre – use the Civic Centre as your marker - and then ask for directions, or just follow the steady stream of red and white clad bodies.
Comfort Zone
One of the most remarkable things about the Dell was that it boasted a toilet accessible from outside the ground. I am pleased to say that the tradition has continued at St Mary’s, with two situated next to the ticket office and the shop.
No Smoking
Despite no longer being subject to the fire risk represented by the Dell’s wooden stands the whole of the new stadium is a no-smoking area. There are remonstrations by some fans unable to last that long without a drag to set aside a smoking area, maybe even congregating outside at half-time like they used to at the Dell.
Your Programme
The matchday programme (cost £2.50) is now available both inside and outside the ground, if you really want one. It is probably better than most, but that is not saying a great deal.
Faces In The Crowd
Despite the advent of St Mary’s, Saints remain resolutely non-trendy, so you are unlikely to spot any celebrity supporters. Many of the great and good are in fact supporters, including Sir Christopher Bland (formerly a big cheese at the BBC and now wielding the power at BT) and Gavyn Davies of the merchant bankers Goldman Sachs, reputedly a very wealthy man who is also a cpf of Gordon Brown. But you would never recognise them.
Those that you might recognise are strictly on the B-list, including Kris Akabusi (no don’t laugh), breakfast TV presenter Fiona Phillips and author Leslie Thomas. Popular legend has it that David Frost is a Saints supporter, but nobody can actually produce any evidence of this. Oh and there is also that chap who presents the sports analysis on the Bloomberg Channel.
Fanzines
Once upon a time Saints had a thriving fanzine culture, starting with ‘The Ugly Inside’, which can claim to be one of the oldest around, dating back to the late 80’s, followed by the infamous ‘On the March’ and then ‘Red Stripe’. Now it seems we are down to just one, ‘the Beautiful South’ which at around two years old is a relative newcomer. Considering the scorn heaped on the club by the fanzines – indeed the Ugly together with SISA (the Independent Supporters Association) probably played an important role in mobilising public opinion against Branfoot – Saints have been remarkably tolerant in allowing them to be sold outside the ground. So if a new edition is out on a matchday you should not find it hard to buy a copy.
The Shop
As part of the St Mary’s complex Saints can now boast their own Megastore, which positively dwarfs the old Dell shop and is jam packed with things you didn’t know you needed. The new home and away strips seem to have sold particularly well this season along with the various farewell to the Dell items. A smaller shop can also be found in the new West Quay shopping centre.
The Strip
After a succession of debacles with Hummell, Admiral and Pony in 1999 Saints decided that they could design and manufacture a crap kit as effectively as anyone else. After a false start we are now wearing a traditional red and white striped shirt that may or may not have been voted for by the fans (some cynics believe the vote was rigged anyway). For away games we also have a natty all-black number as well as a yellow and blue third choice kit.
The logo of Friends Provident, our shirt sponsors, may not exactly be exciting and dynamic, but it is at least legible and self-explanatory. They are a financial company specialising in pensions and so on. Quite appropriate since so many players continue to regard a brief, but lucrative stop-off at the Dell in their final seasons as an essential part of their own pension planning – it is a shame that Stuart Ripley has not started drawing his yet!
After The Game
The local tourist board will not thank me for this, but while it is a pleasant enough city, with lots of green space, Southampton lacks real tourist attractions. It is to paraphrase a well known Irishman, ‘full of things worth seeing, but not worth travelling to see’. And unfortunately the big events such as ‘the party in the park’ pop concert and the balloon festival, take place in the close-season. Even so, if you are making a long trip down from the North it might be worth a stop-over.
For the culturally minded there are some very well preserved town walls, a very good art gallery and a few interesting museums, such as the Maritime Museum, Tudor House and Hall of Aviation – did you know that Southampton was the birthplace of the Spitfire? The City was also the home of General George Gordon, of Khartoum fame. You will also find out that it was Southampton and not Plymouth that the Pilgrim Fathers set sail from. The Red Lion, set in the old town walls, is one of the oldest pubs in England, and features in a scene in Shakespeare (Henry IV part two I seem to recall).
One of the few things that people know about Southampton is that it was once the home of the big ocean liners. Those days are largely over now, containers are much bigger business, but you might be lucky and catch the QEII in dock. The old docks area around Ocean Village have now been turned into a bustling marina development where a number of players have also made their home – obviously not influenced by its proximity to the city’s nightclub scene.
If you are looking for the big night out then in Leisure World, the city offers one of Europe’s largest cinema, nightclub and restaurant complexes. And for an excellent indian meal (most definitely not your cheap and cheerful Balti) then try Kuti’s, owned by our very own Francis Benali, who is known to serve from time to time.
If you are a film-buff, then be sure to check out the Harbour Lights Cinema in Ocean Village, which was recently voted the ‘best independent cinema in the UK’ by Empire Magazine, not least for its stunning architecture.
If shopping is your bag, then the newly opened West Quay Centre, which is possibly the largest shopping development on the south coast will offer everything you could possibly ask for. It does in fact seem so successful, being packed even on Sundays, that it is effectively sucking the life out of the rest of the city centre.
Yes it is a City
I am frequently amused at the number of references you find to ‘the town of Southampton’ and even ‘Southampton Town FC’ (a name never applied to the club). Southampton achieved City status in the early 60’s despite not meeting some of the mandatory requirements – it doesn’t have a Cathedral for example. This award was made in recognition of its importance as a port, thanks to its unique twin tides.
Local legend has it that Southampton has always been out of favour with the Royal family since an incident in the 1930’s or 40’s when the King and Queen attended a civic function and the council then sent Buckingham Palace a bill for the cost of the red carpet. Older Sotonians still believe this is why the Royal Family are infrequent visitors.
FTT Recommends – The Ultimate St Mary’s Day Out
Park in the Leisure World Complex on West Quay Road – which you join naturally when coming in on the M27. At the moment it is free, but I suppose when they realise how many Saints fans are parking there they might start charging.
From here it is a relatively easy 20 minute stroll to the Stadium, with the advantage that you dodge most of the traffic when leaving. You might wish to avail yourself of a drink or even a meal in ‘Frankie and Bennys’ in Leisure World before heading off, or you could stop at the Quayside pub for a drink.
You cross West Quay Road, then turn left and right to walk through the retail park heading for the West Quay Centre (you really can not miss it). You will come in at the parking level, so take the lift or stairs up to the shopping level (John Lewis). If you get it right you will walk out of John Lewis, through the West Quay Centre (with lots of eating places on the top floor), passing the Saints Shop and exiting at a point adjacent to part of the old city walls – you should be able to see the Bargate and Burger King from here. Proceed into the city centre, with the Bargate on your right, and walk down Hannover Buildings (Macdonalds is on the left here) towards the large Debenhams building at the end.
Cross over to Debenhams, and keeping it on your right skirt round the outside until you come to a dual carriageway (Kingsway) – you will see St Mary’s church from here. Cross over – I would use the underpass – into Chapel Road. Then turn left into the industrial estate (Granville Street leading into Melbourne Street) from which you emerge into the Stadium.
On leaving simply reverse the directions. But instead of quitting Leisure world immediately why not catch one of the latest films, or wind down with a full blown meal and drink?
And what of the Dell?
The demolition of the Dell effectively started at the final whistle of the last game against Brighton in May, when many seats were removed unofficially to provide a treasured memory of our beloved ground. Since then all the fixtures and fittings have been removed and auctioned off, so that all that now remains is a forlorn shell, awaiting the bulldozers that will soon transform it into Barratt homes. If you want to catch one last glimpse of the exterior then go soon, because in a matter of months it will be gone forever.
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9 May 08 
Liverpool Football Club