The friendliest local derby in England

The friendliest local derby in England

Last weekend saw one of the least acrimonious Premier League local derbies you could ever imagine in English football.

The location was Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium and the visitors were newly promoted Bournemouth, the seaside resort 50km down the coast, the two towns separated by the New Forest.

On match day, fans from both clubs shared train carriages and buses going to the game with plenty of banter, but barely a hint of trouble.   

The reason for this relatively laid back state of affairs, despite the proximity of the towns, is primarily because the two teams hardly ever play one another, so there isn’t much history between the clubs.

At the very most, they are friendly rivals with no “hatred” involved, unlike many other local derbies. Southampton also supply their neighbours with loan players and the teams enjoy pre-season friendlies.

In fact the majority of people in Britain would associate Bournemouth more with its sandy beaches than its football team.

The last time the teams met was in League One in the 2010-11 season in which Southampton triumphed in both games. The Saints went on to win the league and were promoted again the following year from the Championship to the Premiership.

The only time the two teams had faced off in the league was in the third tier, although they have experienced occasional Cup encounters. Before their recent success, Bournemouth had spent almost their entire history in the third tier, or what was the old Third Division. On the other hand, Southampton have either been in the top flight or the second tier.

Because of their long stints in the lower divisions, Bournemouth’s traditional rivals have not been Southampton, but clubs further away, like Reading who they met regularly in the Third Division.

The last time Bournemouth beat Southampton was in a 1987 League Cup match when Harry Redknapp was manager of the Cherries. That season they went on to win the Third Division title. You have to go back to 1958 for their last league victory over the Saints.

In last Sunday’s match, Southampton enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win, although it did not come as much of a surprise with the Cherries having lost both of their two previous Premier League games 5-1, to Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Bournemouth have been ravaged by injuries this season, particularly to their talisman striker Callum Wilson who is out for the season.

During the match the Southampton supporters cheekily chanted “You’ll never play here again”, which unfortunately could well be true, unless Bournemouth have a sudden change in fortune.

Bournemouth supporters responded with a few renditions of “scummers”, a derogatory chant about Southampton, which usually comes from Portsmouth fans, Southampton’s biggest rivals. However, with Pompey having slumped from the Premier League into League Two, it is a chant you don’t hear so often these days.

But even though they are in the bottom division, Portsmouth will remain Southampton’s main rivals for the South Coast bragging rights which are now firmly held by the Saints.

The roots to the rivalry go back to the days when Southampton owned the port area of Portsmouth, although one doubts that is what motivates fans abusing one another in recent years. The “scummers” insult appears to go back to the 1960s when Southampton dockers refused to support industrial action in Portsmouth.

But possibly the main reason for the antipathy is that while Portsmouth football club went into decline after the 1950s and slid down the divisions, Southampton were going in the opposite direction, winning the old Third Division in 1960 and reaching the top flight in 1966.

They had some good players too, including Martin Chivers, Mick Channon and Terry Paine. In 1984, Southampton even came runners-up to mighty Liverpool in the league title race and  boasted such fine players as Kevin Keegan, Alan Ball and Peter Shilton.

Unfortunately when Southampton and Portsmouth have met in the past there have been occasional outbreaks of violence. In the 1980s and 90s a small group of Pompey fans known as the 6.57 Crew, named after the train they usually caught for away games, gained considerable notoriety.

There have also been lighter incidents. When Southampton let supporters  choose a new outfit for the team online, Pompey fans reportedly infiltrated the website and the ugliest strip won the poll. In addition, a Portsmouth company was involved in building Southampton’s St Mary’s stadium and a Pompey shirt is said to be buried under the centre spot.

It will be a shame if Bournemouth don’t stay in the Premier League as they have worked so hard to get there. Just seven years ago they began the 2008-09 season at the foot of League Two with minus 17 points, on the brink of liquidation. The club’s very existence was under threat.

But in the last game of the season they avoided relegation to the Conference with a precious goal 10 minutes from time. It was rightly dubbed “The  Great Escape’’.

Under the helm of young manager Eddie Howe, they won three promotions in a row to reach the Premier League for the first time. The Cherries don’t deserve falling off the tree  after all that.

Unless Bournemouth and Southampton are drawn in the FA Cup, the next time they clash will be March 1 at Bournemouth’s Dean Court, currently called the Vitality Stadium. For Bournemouth’s sake, let’s hope it will not be the last  time the two clubs will be meeting next year.

If Bournemouth do survive then maybe the friendly rivalry with Southampton will become just a little more intense.

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