Cheerio, League One

6:59pm Monday 9th May 2011 in View from the Chapel Photograph of the Author By Dan Kerins, Digital Editor

Cheerio, League One Cheerio, League One

WELL that’s the end of Saints in League One.

Relief is the emotion I think the resounding majority of Saints fans feel now that we have won promotion back to the second tier.

We’ve had some good times in this division. In fact, I’d go so far to say that I’ve never enjoyed a season of football as much as I did the first year in the old Division Three.

This season, despite the success, hasn’t been as much fun as I think the novelty had worn off slightly and the reality of where we were sank in somewhat.

But, looking back, the march to Wembley last season was a great laugh and a fantastic occasion.

Walking around the capital, you’d swear that half of the people who live there had been replaced by singing Saints fans.

Okay, there have been some low times too – the uncertainty after Markus Liebherr’s death, the chaos in the aftermath of Pardew’s sacking, missing out on the play-offs last year, etc..

But overall I think most of us will look back on these two years with a degree of fondness.

However, that doesn’t mean for one second we want to be back. If you had said to me when we reached the FA Cup Final in 2003 that we were five years away from the third tier, I’d have told you to sit down while I called a medic. It was unthinkable.

No club is too big to be where they are, but Saints should never have been allowed to sink so low so fast.

It was the gamble of getting promoted back to the Premier League that quite literally cost us, so I hope we approach that goal a bit more pragmatically this time.

We sure as hell don’t want to be back HERE any time soon!

There are a few things that I definitely won’t miss from League One.

For one, being in the first round of the FA Cup was a constant reminder of us ‘not being famous any more’ so I’m happy to see the back of that.

Being able to count the number of away fans on one hand is another.

It kills the atmosphere at St. Mary’s if only five people bother travelling down to see their team take on Saints, so I’m looking forward to some bigger clubs coming to town again.

Another, I’m sorry to say, is the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. I loved it last year when we won it. It was brilliant.

But, similarly, when I was a kid I loved school discos and He-Man.

Those times are gone. It’s time to move on and grow up.

So to League One, I say goodbye.

Goodbye to being beaten twice by Rochdale, goodbye to terraces built out of scaffolding, goodbye to having to sit through an hour of Manish, Steve and Leroy before seeing our goals on TV, goodbye to pretend rivalries and goodbye to shaking my head is disbelief that we are actually in the same league as Exeter and Yeovil (no offence, like).

Farewell and thanks for all the fish, Football League Division Three.

Comments(16)

G0Rf says...
12:01pm Tue 10 May 11

Goodbye pretend rivalries (bournemouth) and Hello real rivalries (Portsmuff)

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STHB15 says...
8:08pm Tue 10 May 11

Dan

I must say it sums up my thoughts exactly.

Although I confess to being a bit too old for Schools Disco's and 'He-Man'

Good article, cheers and here is looking forward to next season.

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Doctor GP says...
8:20am Wed 11 May 11

Good piece Dan and I agree with your thoughts.

I'm looking forward to next season now.

Onwards and upwards on the Saints Bus

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saints4eva12 says...
2:40pm Wed 11 May 11

hate to spoil the party dan until we get promtion from the championship we will still have the football league show but the best thing we wont have to wait so long to see the goals

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Arnold J Rimmer says...
1:07am Thu 12 May 11

saints4eva12 wrote:
hate to spoil the party dan until we get promtion from the championship we will still have the football league show but the best thing we wont have to wait so long to see the goals
Great piece Dan, but as the above poster states we will still be on the football league show. However, how great would it be to see Claridge snarling through his teeth, as he has to comment on the Saints progressing to the prem, whilst his beloved skates sink into oblivion?

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Ferray says...
9:00am Thu 12 May 11

^^^ Guys, Dan didn't say we won't be on the FL Show, he said we won't have to sit through the show for an hour until we see our goals. Sometimes we may even be on FIRST!!!! Wowsers, we can be in bed by midnight!!
Good article Dan, especially the bit about stands made out of scaffolding, what a pants day out Gillingham was. I can't wait to go to games without worrying about being absolutely drenched as we're being played off the park by a team going to League 2!
It's also a good point about how we approach the Championship. I would be very happy for a mid-table finish, not far off the play-offs for that bit of excitement. If we go straight up, I think it's a good chance we'll come straight down again. Let's carefully spend money to build a stronger squad, and let's push on to be a force to be reckoned with

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StEmmosfire says...
12:43pm Thu 12 May 11

Isn't it "So long, and thanks for all the fish"?

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MGRA says...
4:31pm Thu 12 May 11

We sank low and fast due to many things, one of which is not often discussed. Several managers signed average players on stupid money who had no pride in the shirt. Also we had a string of managers who deep down did not care less about this club. Pardew was not in that category and Adkins certainly is not either. There is a completely different feel to this club now. But when we get back to the top tier ( and we will ) we must not forget some of our undoing and we must not return to 3 managers a season and average players being signed on daft money.... great article btw....

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lowe esteem says...
1:39pm Fri 13 May 11

G0Rf wrote:
Goodbye pretend rivalries (bournemouth) and Hello real rivalries (Portsmuff)
Don't think "they" will be rivals for long- please don't big 'em, up they're small fish in a bigger pond.

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Exiled Saint says...
12:25pm Sat 14 May 11

Good to see the Yellow Flemish nationalist flag making a statement haha.

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Horse’s mouth says...
5:41pm Mon 16 May 11

Am i the only one that will miss league one.

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HorndeanSaint says...
5:00pm Tue 17 May 11

MGRA wrote:
We sank low and fast due to many things, one of which is not often discussed. Several managers signed average players on stupid money who had no pride in the shirt. Also we had a string of managers who deep down did not care less about this club. Pardew was not in that category and Adkins certainly is not either. There is a completely different feel to this club now. But when we get back to the top tier ( and we will ) we must not forget some of our undoing and we must not return to 3 managers a season and average players being signed on daft money.... great article btw....
Good points MGRA and great article Dan. Never forget whose decisions were behind us taking the "cheap option" with managers, Stuart Gray and our Dutch friends for instance.
How glad we are to see the end of the influence of the dark lord and his cronies even though the process was painful in the extreme.
Finally, yes league 1 was a bit of fun including the early rounds of the F.A. cup and without such fun awaydays, would I ever have gone to Northampton, Gillingham, Leyton Orient, Yeovil, Bristol Rovers, MK Dons, Peterborough etc. Probably not!!
Brentford and Plymouth, 2 games in 3 days with 1 or both of my sons will live in the memory for many a year. Lets hope we can have similar times at the likes of Nottingham Forest, Derby and skatesmouth.

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Red n White Army says...
9:15pm Sat 21 May 11

Horse’s mouth wrote:
Am i the only one that will miss league one.
Yeah!
.
It had its moments but there's no way I'd want to relive the experience.
.
Great piece BTW Dan, and thanks for your insights this season. :-)

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saints4eva12 says...
7:50am Tue 24 May 11

Horse’s mouth wrote:
Am i the only one that will miss league one.
horse,s mouth i will miss it to but on wards and up wards

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StEmmosfire says...
3:42pm Wed 1 Jun 11

Dan, if your quoting Hitchhikers Guide it's "So long, and thanks for all the fish"

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Dan Kerins says...
11:07am Thu 2 Jun 11

StEmmosfire wrote:
Dan, if your quoting Hitchhikers Guide it's "So long, and thanks for all the fish"
Yeah, I realised that after the article was printed, but seems a bit pointless to change it when the error is in the paper for all time!

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