A rough guide to what I'll be subbing to True Faith this week...
Fans far and wide seem caught in a mighty head-spin about whether they can stomach boycotting merch, let alone the match itself. It can work, though…You might have seen that Southampton FC almost went to the wall in summer ’09. The mirage of Matt Le Tissier and some bongo consortium fell through and all seemed lost until Markus Liebherr rolled in with his swiss (chocolate) coins to save the club from liquidation. So what? What does this have to do with the mental asylum on Barrack Road? It’s that word which has caused a bit of a stir ever since Special K left; boycott. It began with an FA Cup match against Franchise FC (MK Dons, not Manyoo) on Jan 7 2005 when a small group, coordinated by Nick Illingsworth, refused to attend the match as a protest against the running of the club by one of football’s favourite deluded dickheads, Rupert Lowe.
Previously dismissed as a “vocal minority” by the board, the fans shouldered arms by going to watch Eastleigh instead. This was supposed to be a one off gesture, said Illingsworth; “it’s about time that [they] realised that the fans matter and we won’t keep turning up whatever. [They’ve] had a soft ride and we want to make it a little bit bumpier”. Sound like anyone in particular? Illingsworth is editor of Saints fanzine The Ugly Inside but didn’t receive unanimous backing, others wanted “to support the new manager and the players […] it’s up to others what they do”. Again, we’ve seen this before. Even with the home match against Bolton last season, when most hacks pointed out the dwindling numbers as emblematic of a demise in the fanbase, its much clearer now that a combination of Ashley, the ‘competitive’ nature of the PL and relegation have focussed minds that match-by-match is the way forward. Would Ashley stop acting the fool if there were only 35,000 in the stadium every week, with 5-10,000 of those not buying owt? The attendances this season have been eye-watering and a reason for all exiles (hurrah!) to puff their chests out when discussing the weekend’s events on a Monday morning but, when you look at the example set by these Saints fans, staying away could be something.
Of course, this argument devolves considering the stature of the club in the city and what it means. You don’t need me to tell you what the club is to people far and wide. People don’t want to give up the match. I wouldn’t. I don’t think, in all honesty, it’s a decision anyone who loves their club, regardless of which one it is (Franchise FC exempted), might take. If Ashley sticks around past the summer, would you entertain the idea of stumping up your hard-earned for, well, what? Where does it even go? When Southampton entered administration, Lowe tried to blame the misfortunes of the club on Barclays for ‘irresponsible lending’. Sounds about right in the economic climate in 2008; it also sounds like that shite last summer about Moat being unable to guarantee the overdraft against his purchase of the club. Michael Wilde ousted Rupert Lowe from Southampton in 2006 then welcomed him back with open arms. Who says Moat wouldn’t have done the same with the FCB? We know now that Moat is a crock of shit but at the time he almost got away with it; only his gaffes since the collapse of the sale have brought the chickens home to roost.
The financial troubles at Southampton were augmented by the boycott of around 5000 fans as things lurched from bad to worse to deep shit. A couple of colleagues boycotted and feared for the club, but ‘it was the only way to get the cancer out of the club’. Southampton Independent Supporter’s Association member, Richard Chorley, was evicted from the club AGM in December ’08 for launching thirty pieces of silver at Lowe and Wilde. Something for NUST to think about if they ever prise the keys to SJP out of the FCB’s sweaty mitts… Boycotting might seem like nonsense to some, nufc.com have said before that they won’t endorse anything they wouldn’t do themselves and fair play to them. The key to the message is that this sort of thing can work. Of course, administration is what almost took the club out of existence and allowed it to shed the numbskulls who had steered the ship on to the rocks but without the diminished crowds it would have only allowed the club and its taskmasters to tread water for even longer and to gorge the £24m owed to Norwich Union beyond any possible recoverable amount. The small scale (in stupid modern football terms) of the debt allowed Liebherr to guarantee the club’s future. What if they’d been £10m worse off?
A boycott might never become a reality but that doesn’t mean that you should rule it out, heavy heart or not.
The clue's in the title; there isn't a lot more anyone can say about Vampire Weekend that you haven't already read or seen elsewhere. Where the first album was a bit of a mess, the band don't sound like they're competing with Mark Mothersbaugh to score a Wes Anderson film on Contra. 
