On this day 46 years ago I did something that would change my life, I walked through the gates of The Dell for the very first time.

15th January 1972 was a life changing day in my life, perhaps the biggest one as since then many things have changed but there has been one constant and that has been Southampton Football Club.

On that day Saints took on Manchester United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, ironically it was very much a day like today as it was torrential rain, but that didn't stop a crowd of 28,160 packing into the Dell, the game was a sell out which should have been over 30,000, so either a few didn't turn up or more likely the club as was the norm declared a slightly smaller attendance than tickets sold and therefore less income to the revenue.

This was a Manchester United team that was still packed with players who had won the European Cup 4 years earlier including club legends George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law and you didn't get much bigger back then, it also included future Saints defender Francis Burns.

Alex Stepney
Paul Edwards
David Sadler
Francis Burns
Tommy O'Neil
Willie Morgan
George Best
Bobby Charlton
Alan Gowling
Brian Kidd
Denis Law

The Saints line up had it's share of club legends as well, Mike Channon (always Mike back then) Terry Paine and Ron Davies would feature in any top ten greatest Saints lis, not to mention a player who would score the most famous goal in our history Bobby Stokes.

Eric Martin
Bob McCarthy
Tony Byrne
Roger Fry
Jimmy Gabriel
Tom Jenkins
Mick Channon
Ron Davies
Terry Paine
Bobby Stokes
Gerry O'Brien

I had a ticket under the West Stand and I sat on the wall that divided that section of terracing from the funny little bit squeezed in the corner of the Archers Road end under the scoreboard.

United scored on 37 minutes through Bobby Charlton and as much as I despise Manchester United I have to admit you probably couldn't get a much more iconic scorer of the first goal that you ever see live, except of course his team mate George Best.

Saints equalised in the 55th minute and I would sadly have to wait for my first Channon or Davies goal, mind you no one was too bothered at the time, just glad to see Jimmy Gabriel put the ball in the net and I had witnessed my first Saints goal.

Everything about that day I can remember, the greeness of the pitch, the United supporters on the Archers Road end, the Milton Mob making all the noise under the Toomers sign and the bright Red & White stripes, I was hooked and have never waivered since.

Sadly we would be destroyed in the replay four days later at Old Trafford, I wasn't present, then again I dont expect many other 10 year old Saints fans were either as United romped home 4-1 after extra time.

So today marks 46 years of supporting Saints, or at least of actually going to watch them, I had been wanting to go for a month or so before this game.

Over that time I have seen both the good and bad, but for me it has always been about supporting the club, I have protested against managers and the board on many occasions, but it has always been about the bigger picture and that has been the club itself.

Managers, players and Board members or owners come to that, come and go, but there is one constant and that is the supporters.

From an early stage of my Saints supporting career I relised that I was not going to be entertained or to win trophies, although for a good part of my first decade we did challenge for honours and indeed win the only one of our history.

But it was never about that for me, it was about supporting Southampton Football Club through thick and thin, there are very many reasons why people can't go to games, but for me at least, entertainment or success was never going to be one of them.

If it was just about the game, perhaps I would have given up in season 1974/75 when we had been relegated and had a dire first season in the then Division Two, but it wasn't about that, perhaps thats why when a season later we won the cup I learnt the lesson that to appreciate the good times you have to be there during the bad ones.

1975/76 was our greatest season ever but for big chunks of it a section of the crowd wasn't happy, when we took on Oldham at home on 31st January it came on the back of five straight league wins followed by two draws one a home game against promotion rivals Bolton, yet there were 6,000 missing for the visit of Oldham and only 14,294 turned up, significant because this was the game that the club issued vouchers for any all ticket games, Saints won 3-2 but the crowd wasn't happy and the terraces were littered with the vouchers discarded after the game, the fans thought there was no point in keeping them.

They wished they had a few moths later and I along with the lads I went to the game with knew that we were guaranteed both semi and then FA Cup final tickets and thus witnessed the greatest day in our history.

Over this 46 years I have seen many changes in our supporter base and behaviour, but for the past 20 years or so it has mainly not been for the best.

Yes perhaps I am simple for believeing that we should support the club through thick and thin and entertainment and success should not be the main reasons for supporting a football club, but we didn't just follow Saints blindly, when the manager or Chairman got where not doing their job we made ourselves known.

25 years ago we would support the team and then after the game vent our feelings, several thousand outside the main entrance letting the board know their feelings, todays fan simply tweets his disatisfaction or uses other social media.

I feel sad that so many are able to turn so easily on the Club and those that are running it, nothing is ever perfect, but today it is about venting your spleen on social media and people get so vitriolic these days.

I try to be realistic in supporting Saints, I moan about what we can achieve and haven't, but I do realise the difference between fantasy and ambition, saying that Saints can get into the top four is definately ambitious, but it is not in the main that realistic due to the fat that it would need at least three of the big six to totally muck things up and that is not as simple as it sounds.

So when I set the targets I feel Saints can reach then I am not being negative but realistic, for me this is the best time in our history in terms of league positions, never in my 46 years have we finished in the top 8 four seasons in a row up till now, yet the board is still harangued.

I do not claim that my attitude towards supporting the club is right, it is everyones right to decide not to go when things are not going well, but it is not an attitude I find admirable in football supporters, we all have our own levels of support, when I started how good a supporter you were depended on how many games you went to, if you went to every home game and half the away's you were not as good a supporter as someone who went to every game home and away, but better than one who didnt go to any on the road.

That was how your status as a good supporter was measured, not it seems to be in how many replica shirts you own and how many times you tweet.

So I will stay behind the club in this difficult time, I won't be going on social media and taking the p*ss out of the club and making snide remarks about it, I will be giving it my full support and hope that will be enough to get it out of trouble, sadly that does not seem to be the popular way of looking at things at least on social media.

I have pride in the club and pride in the City, but again I see little of that at the moment, it is trendy to tell anyone who will listen that you are not renewing your season ticket, sorry but I would be far prouder to tell everyone that should we go down I will definately be renewing, that is something to be proud of, telling the world you back your club through thick and thin, not telling everyone that you are going to desert it !

Southampton Football Club has great support, we turn out in big numbers, but some have lost a sense of reality, perhaps 8 years of success and improvement year in year out has clouded some peoples judgement as to what supporting a team is all about, certainly I speak to a lot of long term fans who stuck with the team in League One, who haven't been for 3/4 years now, not due to not being entertained, but priced out of the game or just not enjoying the matchday experience.

Perhaps I am seeing things through rose tinted spectacles, perhaps I am wrong to think that football supporters should support their team through thick and thin, but deep down I can accept that some will not go if we are not doing well, but what I cant accept is that lack of pride in our club, our city and more importantly ourselves.

I am proud of Southampton FC I am proud of my City, that means that although I will not blindly follow, I won't take the p*ss on social media and give others the opportunity to ridicule us !

So thats the first 46 years done, here's to the next, I hope it's as much fun as it has been since 1972, I would not swap Manchester United's last four decades for ours, it has been a lot more fun to go through the emotional roller coaster rather than blindly follow because a team is likely to win trophies each and every season and i would certainly not swap our last 46 years for Portsmouth's.

Photo: Action Images

helpineedsomebody added 11:59 - Jan 15 you should say CARE FOR SFC AS WE ALL DO
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Number_58 added 12:23 - Jan 15 Just think Nick, but for 1,800 lapses of concentration in those 46 years we could have won everything!
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densham41 added 12:29 - Jan 15 Another balanced article. Nick you sum up how I feel about my football team and city. My first home game was the 74/75 season. One Saturday I walked from the city centre past the polygon up to the Dell. Never before had I visited the ground. I was not intending to watch the game, I was only 12, I just wanted to find out where the ground was. When I arrived outside I could hear the game and crowd. I looked though the gap between the turnstile and wall and saw a slither of green pitch. Even being outside at that time my heart was pounding. Then half time came. At this point I walked up the Milton Rd to the entrance of the East Stand. The gates were open for some reason at half time and I walked along the outside of the stand. Suddenly in front of me a door was open and I could see inside the ground. For me it was amazing seeing the green of the pitch and a wonderful ground. Suddenly around me fans started to come through the door back into their seats. I then went to walk the other way but got stopped by a Stewart who asked where I was gong. I explained I never had a ticket and was walking back to Milton Rd. He then asked if I wanted to watch the second half. YES was the answer, so the second half was Saints v Orieant was my first. We won 4 - 2 I think. After that I started to go on my own or with friends and have been hooked ever since. Iv many memories of away games with Clive's away travel club. Somebody should write a book about those trips

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dirk_doone added 12:35 - Jan 15 The late 70s were the best years for Saints support home and away, outsinging Liverpool at Wembley in the Charity Shield, even though we lost, and the deafening singing on all four sides of the Dell, which probably peaked on the night of February 1st 1977 in a 4th round FA Cup replay v Forest, when the crowd drove an inferior Saints team to victory against one of the best sides in Europe at the time. Sadly, you missed out on the massive away followings we used to take to games in the late 60s, including 15,000 Saints fans in a 19,000 crowd at Leyton Orient in 1966. I remember 10,000 Saints fans taking over Tottenham's Park Lane End, with Saints 0-6 down when we got a late consolation goal and all 10,000 belted out, "We're only warming up." You'd have thought we were the winning team. You couldn't hear the Spurs fans.

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forallthesaints added 12:50 - Jan 15 Congratulations on one of the most well-reasoned articles I've read about Saints and the current and past situations that I've read recently. You're right, the anger and inflated expectations are causing far too much friction between people who are supposed to be supporting the same team as each other. Your point about us finishing in the top eight for the past four seasons is crucial. Apart from the golden spell in the mid-80s (we nearly got the double in '84 - runners-up in the league and Cup semi-final), our experience in the top division has been the odd 7th or mad-cap relegation fights. The viciousness aimed at the manager and the board this season is, to my mind, out of all proportion. Yes, we're struggling for form and yes, we should have won on Saturday, and I was bitterly disappointed and frustrated but the anger I witnessed from some as we left the ground was beyond all reason. I would pick you up on one point and that's the judgement of how good a supporter you are. I first went to the Dell in the 1967-68 season for the 0-0 draw against West Ham (Peters, Moore and Hurst still basking in World Cup glory) and the 1-1 FA Cup game against the giants of Newport County. Because we lived away from Southampton, throughout my childhood I had to rely on my Dad or big brother taking me to games so I didn't see more than a couple each season. I'm fortunate that for the past 10 years or so I've been able to get down more and now have a season ticket and get to most away games. But in those earlier years, I was just as passionate a supporter. It's impossible to judge who is the best supporter and I don't believe attendance is the prime qualification. It's, as you say elsewhere in your article, about a love for the club, whoever is running it or playing for it and whichever league we find ourselves in. Incidentally, my Spurs supporting neighbour thinks I'm a bit nuts as I traipse off with my scarf every weekend. Hopefully after next weekend I'll have a brief period of bragging rights - although I might have to keep my head down. Once again, thanks and congratulations for a great read. COYS

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SaintNick added 12:55 - Jan 15 Densham, you hit the nail on the head about what it used to mean about seeing your team for the first time, Dirk sorry I could not mention every classic moment , I remember the first game at Forest when we took around 10.000 fans and had the Trent End and half the side, the replay we one of those nights at the Dell under lights, although to be pedantic, Forest were in Division two with us at the time so not yet one of the best sides in Europe. Indeed later that season we were winning 1-0 at the City Ground in the league when a fog came in from the Trent causing the game to be abandoned in the 2nd half. We lost the replayed game 2-1, if we had won that first game then Forest would have finished 6th, even a draw would have seen them drop out of the top three and then they would not have won the League the following season and thus two European cups in the two following seasons Funny how fate takes a hand sometimes

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BlackAngel added 13:10 - Jan 15 A great article Nick, thanks. Coincendently my first Saints game was also this game, although it was a few years later that I became a regular supporter and season ticket holder. Subsequently, I have seen the highs and lows and highs as many have and will continue to support Saints through thick & thin. To me SFC is family, so I give short shrift to 'supporters' who are overly negative/critical - as if someone's deliberately undermining the clubs' success. Sure. we're under the cosh other moment and it is very frustrating, but bad mouthing the club, the board and individual players does nothing positive. It takes time to create a successful team. Just ask Alex Ferguson.

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dirk_doone added 13:13 - Jan 15 We have quite a history with Forest, Nick. You are right, the same players and manager (Clough) went on to become one of the best teams in Europe in the years following that game. To be pedantic, there were 13,000 of us Saints fans in the 38,000 crowd at the City Ground that day in 1977 lol. I remember when we needed to beat Forest at the Dell in 1967 in order to stay up and Forest were fighting for the league championship. Saints won the game 2-1 and stayed up while Forest finished runners-up to Man. Utd. Then, of course, there was the 1979 League Cup Final and another great atmosphere.

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arves added 13:21 - Jan 15 Great article Nick (its Steve from Basingstoke btw, hope all good) First game for me 2nd Oct 1971. Dad a saints fan took me and my younger brother V Arsenal 0-1 Peter Simpson who rarely scored got the goal. Under the West Stand by the Archers. Sure I remember Clive going round half time selling Kia Oras! Came out a Saints fan, brother came out a gooner! Had over 46 years on this amazing rollercoaster which will never stop and I don't want it too! Strangely cant remember my first away game which must have been 77-78 ish.

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SanMarco added 13:29 - Jan 15 I remember that replay. We waited up for the highlights on Sportsnight with Coleman and were told they couldn't show us the first half but Saints were 1 up (Channon I think). The second half seemed to go on forever until Manure eventually equalised and then romped home in extra time. I cried I am afraid but I was only - well 11 - but it WAS very disappointing! I applaud the sentiments in the article but would say that whatever tantrums or disagreements we have all of us (on here at least) DO support the club through thick and thin. We are all still here are we not??

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PETEA71 added 13:36 - Jan 15 Great to read about people's memories of such excitement. My first game was at home to Liverpool in 1983. I'm ashamed to say that I arrived at the Dell with my Dad and Brother as fervent Saints fans, but me as a Liverpool fan!!! We got to the ground about 12.00 and by 12.30 I realised how important and meaningful it was to support your home team. I was hooked from that moment. Maybe the Gods were smiling down that day as Steve Moran and a double from Nick Holmes, saw us to a memorable 3-2 victory over an incredible Liverpool team.

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Wembley76 added 14:13 - Jan 15 Great memories from all of you! My first game was way back in 1964..... Milton Rd end, almost being the goal and could just about peer past some of the 'lads in the front' to see things. Fully hooked fan since, and for 50+ years have supported thru' thin & thinner, with some glorious footie/Saints memories to boot! But, these days, am heartily fed up with the 'neagativity' that now seems to be on the terraces at St. Mary's and, particularly, from the new breed 'keyboard warriors' (I can't bring myself to call them supporters) who struggle to come to terms with our journeys. Have worn my 'red 'n' white' with pride all over the world and, banter aside, have never experienced the 'depressing views' of this club from anyone; unlike the bile peddled by some this last three years or so. Social media has much to answer for........ Maybe it should be re-named 'anti-social media' Following Saints FC is a passion; not a '5 minute wonder' If it was all just about 'entertainment' then the cynic might say...... "that's wot yer right hand is for"

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Number_58 added 14:17 - Jan 15 I can't remember the first time I visited The Dell as it would have been a reserve match (remember them?) in the early 1970s. My first league match was the 2-2 draw with QPR in 1974 when Patred's avatar saved two penalties. We were relegated that season. We thought it was the end of the world. It wasn't. Since 1974 I've had some amazing times watching Saints, and a fair few terrible times too. I honestly believe that it's the bad times that make the good days seem even more special. Just recently we've been incredibly spoiled (in my opinion, of course). The promotion seasons were awesome, especially just two years after it looked like we might not even have a club to support. I shall never forget being one of the first on the pitch after the Walsall game and suddenly thinking "Should I be doing pitch invasions at my age?". The Wembley outing last year was fantastic, and I shall never ever forget walking out of the metro station in Milan, looking up at the San Siro stadium and pinching myself to check that I wasn't dreaming. My team, my Southampton FC, playing at one of the greatest stadiums in the world. Fast forward just a year and a half and now we hear people saying they will walk away after one poor season. It's frankly pathetic and embarrassing. Yes we all want to see our team win, and no-one moans more than me when we lose, but it's part and parcel of being a supporter. If we go down, so be it. It's just one more part of a rich tapestry that's been in the making since 1885.

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SaintNick added 14:30 - Jan 15 For all the saints, I agree it is not just about who can go to all the games, I was being a little generic as there are always those who would love to be going to every game but cant do so because of living away, work, finances and family reasons, I was more referring to those who could afford to go but choose not to unless the team is doing well etc
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SaintNick added 14:37 - Jan 15 Dirk you are rght about Forest, Clough was turning them into a good team, but at the time most of his side in that promotion season were relatively unknown, what really changed them from a good Div 2 side into a great div 1 side was some key signings in the summer of 1977 Peter Shilton, Kenny Burns and Archie Gemmill to name but 3.
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SanMarco added 14:45 - Jan 15 You forgot the epic Zenith Data final (1993?) Dirk, another 3-2 defeat at Wembley - it's becoming a bit of a habit...
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Whiteknight added 15:16 - Jan 15 Great article! My first games were preseason friendlies against Partick Thistle and Japan (I think). We lived in Surrey so I was very dependent on my dad to take me. First league game was 23 December 1972 - Saints 0 West Ham 0 - not the best start but as everyone's said, hooked! I used to love Southern Soccer (I think on ITV) as they regularly showed Saints. I think my favourite season was 1977-78, when I was able to go more often. I think my first away game was Fulham away around Easter in that season. Classic moment that season was the abuse Jon Bailey of Blackburn got at the Dell! I agree about going down - if it happens, so be it; but at least let it be with a bit of fight. Finally, I can't imagine supporting anyone but Saints

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the_saint added 16:43 - Jan 15 Nice article nick and great taking a trip down memory lane with all the replies, nice to have 5 minutes with a smile on my face when ready something about our great club
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aceofthebase added 17:37 - Jan 15 I saw my first game aged six, sixty-five years ago when we were in the third division South and If my memory serves me right it was Southend. My dad took me on the back of his BSA Bantam. I have seen Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton and other greats. Terry Paine was my footballing hero but the best away player I saw was Brian Clough,(was it Derby in a cup match) he scored a hat-trick and from behind the goal, I can still see his thunderbolt of a header hit the net. My biggest regret is that my naval and aviation career prevented me seeing Le God and today I am a distant supporter. I am amazed at the away support that Saints have. In the fifties, you rarely saw an away supporter at the dell and they mingled with the home crowd. Ah, those memories!

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redwight added 19:10 - Jan 15 Great article and wonderful memories. First game for me was Pompey at home in sept. 1974 with Ron Davies returning to the Dell for the first time since signing for them. Remember clearly that pompey fans had the left half of the Milton and, not being too sure where to go, ended up in with them! Terrible game, but at least we won it. As others have said, the defence of the cup in 1977, and not just the Forest tie, was unforgettable. Winning the replay in the rain at Stamford bridge and then being chased down the Fulham Rd, heavily outnumbered, and escaping through a police cordon. The atmosphere at the Dell for the Forest and Man U games, the emergence of the star that was Steve Williams. I could go on!! You're right Nick, with the rise of social media something has been lost.

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saintmark1976 added 19:13 - Jan 15 Lovely article Nick. It and the subsequent posts brought many memories flooding back,mostly happy I'm pleased to say. My first game was away at Bournemouth in the 1959/60 season as I recall it. Saints played in gold and black. We won I seem to remember. I've been lucky to have seen some great Saints players and many from the opposition including Moore, Peters and Hurst from West Ham. Best and Charlton from Man United together with the incomparable Jimmy Greaves of Spurs. SanMarco. I was at the replay you mention. It was a hell of a long way back from Old Trafford that night. My happiest memory. Winning away at Luton in the penultimate away game of the season we were promoted with David Peach scoring a penalty after Bally had "fallen over" in their box. My worst memory. Losing to Everton in the semi final of the F A cup at Highbury. Why Lawrie Mac chose to play a clearly unfit Steve Williams instead of Allan Curtis remains beyond my comprehension to this very day. In regard to fans recent attitudes. I believe that some of the problem stems from the fact that football is no longer relatively cheap to watch. It's not now so easy to forgive poor performances when you have paid forty or fifty pounds to watch average players who may well earn more in a year than you will in a life time.

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LordDZLucan added 19:35 - Jan 15 For me supporting Saints is all about being part of something where we all pull together, have the same goals and share in the highs and the lows. And by 'all' I mean supporters, players, the manager and the board. However, I sense at the moment that there are maybe one or two stakeholders whose goals are more self-centred. For example do we now have a group of players who to a man are fully committed to the cause? Do we have an owner who is prepared to put his hand in his very ample pocket because if he isn't why did he buy the club? There will be supporter unrest for as long as the answer to those questions is not a resounding 'Yes' and rightly so. Because if we're not all in it together we cease to be a 'club'. And if we're not a club goodness where it all ends up.

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SaintPaulVW added 02:42 - Jan 16 Great stuff.
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SaintBrock added 15:27 - Jan 16 Bloody hell Nick, you're only a baby. Only 42 years, where were you in the good old days? Bloody Johnny come lately's!
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SaintNick added 22:02 - Jan 16 You eyesight is failing Saintbrock its 46 years lol
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