Saints fan Trevor Webb despairs over state of the club

The 41-year-old season ticket holder was at St Mary’s last weekend to witness another sad day in the miserable recent history of Southampton FC.

Not only did Saints suffer a horrendous 2-1 home loss to fellow Championship strugglers Doncaster, but the game was marred by Saints fans fighting among themselves after Rovers had taken the lead.

Webb’s story will strike a chord in all those who hold Saints dear to their hearts.

“It’s desperation time,” said the Southampton-based fan in the wake of the Doncaster debacle.

“This is the time when all fans have to stick together.”

But that is proving incredibly hard.

Internet message boards have been flooded all season with debates about how Saints fans react to the current scenario with an unpopular board and a primarily young team doing their best under the guidance of a Dutchman inexperienced with English football.

Webb’s frustration has reached such levels that he is going to boycott the next home game, against Swansea, on Saturday, January 31st.

He is calling on other supporters to follow him in his one-game protest.

The Daily Echo in no way supports Webb’s call for a boycott of the Swansea game, or any home match, but we acknowledge the rising levels of frustration amongst the hardcore support.

“Fans are feeling helpless,” Webb added. “What can we do?

“I feel so sad that I’m feeling this way and that I will miss the Swansea game.

“I don’t know if a boycott would have any impact, I don’t know if it would make a difference.

“We are all part of the jigsaw and the club shouldn’t take the fans lightly.

“The fans are the most important part of the club.

“I don’t think a boycott would hurt the club financially – there are 11,000 season ticket holders and we’ve all paid our money up front.

“The club have already got my money for the Swansea game.”

Other supporters insist that non season ticket holders staying away will only harm the club financially at a time when they are struggling to keep out of administration.

There will be those who believe a boycott goes against everything a true supporter stands for.

Some fans, meanwhile, are adamant that protests are the only way to get their point across.

There was the first widespread protest of the season against chairman Rupert Lowe after the Doncaster game, when around 300-400 fans congregated outside the main entrance afterwards.

But again, fans are split as to what form the protest should be.

A Facebook group set up this week calling for an after-match protest at the Swansea game has already attracted almost 1,000 members.

And supporters who took part in the protests against Ian Branfoot back in the early 1990s insist that NO protests – in terms of singing songs or pitch invasions – must be made during the 90 minutes and that ALL energies should be spent on supporting the team.

Webb added: “I don’t agree that there should be protests during the game. That only upsets the team.

“What aggravated people at the weekend where some fans were chanting against the board after Doncaster scored while others were telling them to sit down and support the team.”

Hertfordshire University student Ben Lane set up the Facebook website mentioned earlier in the story, and he said any protest should be held after the Swansea game.