[themaclad]

Southampton v Preston North End
St Mary's 6/3/2024

St Mary's Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Southampton, England, which has been the home stadium of EFL Championship club Southampton F.C. since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384[1] and is currently the largest football stadium in South East England.

The Taylor Report on 29 January 1990 required all First and Second Division clubs to have all-seater stadiums by August 1994, Southampton's directors initially decided to upgrade The Dell into an all-seater stadium (which was completed in 1993) but speculation about relocation continued, especially as an all-seater Dell had a capacity of just over 15,000; despite this, Southampton continued to defy the odds and survive in the new FA Premier League after 1992.

After a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to build a new 25,000-seater stadium and leisure complex at Stoneham, on the outskirts of Southampton, the city council offered the club the chance to build a new ground on the disused gas work site in the heart of the city, about one and half miles from The Dell.

The move was cited as the club returning home, because the club was formed by members of the nearby St. Mary's Church, as the football team of St. Mary's Church Young Men's Association before becoming Southampton St. Mary's F.C., and eventually Southampton F.C. Construction started in December 1999 and was completed at the end of July 2001, with work on the 32,689[2] seat stadium itself and improvements to local infrastructure cost a total of £32 million.

The Saints have been in residence since August 2001 when they moved from The Dell, which for the final years of its life, held just over 15,000 spectators – less than half the size of the new stadium. The first match was played on 1 August 2001 against RCD Espanyol, with the Spanish side winning 4–3.

The first competitive hat trick at the stadium was scored by Stafford Browne for Aldershot Town in a 3–1 victory over Havant & Waterlooville in the Hampshire Senior Cup final on 1 May 2002.[3]

In 2022, the stadium was used one of the venues to host the UEFA Women's Euro 2022. It was used to host Group A matches, which had the hosts England.[4]

Description

The exterior of the Itchen Stand at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, April 2022
The stadium is a complete bowl, with all stands of equal height. There are two large screens at either end that can be seen from any seat.

The stadium has four stands, which are named after the areas of Southampton they face. The main (east) stand is the Itchen Stand, and faces the River Itchen. The opposite stand is called the Kingsland Stand. Behind the south goal is the Chapel Stand, and to the north is the Northam Stand.

At the rear of the Chapel, Kingsland and Northam Stands, there is a continuous, translucent 'panel' that is designed to allow light to access the pitch. A large section of the roof at the Chapel Stand, at the southern end of the stadium is also translucent, for the same reason.

At the rear of the Itchen Stand, there are 42 executive boxes, and a police control room. The stand also houses the club's offices, changing rooms, press facilities and corporate hospitality suites. The four main hospitality suites are named after some of Saints' greatest players:

Terry Paine
Mick Channon
Bobby Stokes
Matt Le Tissier
The Northam Stand is home to the majority of the more vocal supporters, as well as visiting fans. Visitors can be given up to 4,250 seats (15 per cent of the capacity) for cup games, and up to 3,200 for league matches.



https://www.southamptonfc.com/en

https://www.not606.com/threads/southampt...t-17386741

LAST TIME OUT





FORM GUIDE

SAINTS 10 PNE 15

Saints lost last two home games

IN FORM



HISTORY BIT


God's House Tower is a late 13th century gatehouse into the old town of Southampton, England. It stands at the south-east corner of the town walls and permitted access to the town from the Platform and Town Quay. It is now an arts and heritage venue, and has previously served as the town gaol and housed the Museum of Archaeology. The building is Grade I listed and a scheduled ancient monument.[1]

History
The original gatehouse was a simple affair, built in the late 13th century and known as the Saltmarsh Gate, as it led to marshlands outside the town.[1][2] Being close to God's House Hospital, which had been founded in 1168 by Gervase le Riche as a refuge for travellers, the gateway became known as the God's House gateway.[3] Following the French raid on the town in 1338, the town's defences were strengthened and the gateway was reinforced.[3]

The tower was further extended in 1417[2] by the addition of a two-storey gallery and a three-storey tower, to the east of the gateway; this was one of the earliest forts built specifically to carry cannon[2] and had eight gunports and rooftop firing points.[4][5] This spur enabled the town gunner to protect the sluices that controlled the flow of seawater into a tidal moat used to power the water mill under the tower. The town gunner was also responsible for making the gunpowder and gunshot which he stored, together with the guns, in the gallery of the tower.[3]

By the start of the 17th century, the building had fallen into disrepair[6] as the town no longer needed strong defences and in 1707 part of the building was being used as a house of correction.[3] From 1786, it became the town gaol;[3] at this time, the tower was known as the "Lambcote Tower".[1] In 1855, a new prison was opened in Ascupart Street and the prison in the tower was closed.[7]

The building stood empty until 1876, when it was requisitioned by the Southampton Harbour Board for use as storage, although the groundfloor of the gatehouse was retained for use as a mortuary. At this time, the buildings were restored and the exterior was cleaned.[7]

In 1957, approval was sought to convert the building into a museum: four years later in 1961, the Museum of Archaeology opened to the public and then closed in September 2011.[3]

PREVIOUS SAINT



Who’s Available?

There should be no fresh injury concerns for Ryan Lowe to worry about, with everyone seemingly coming through Saturday’s draw with Hull City unscathed.

Duane Holmes made his return from injury at the weekend as he came off the bench for his first appearance since the end of January.

Robbie Brady was also named as a substitute following a one-game absence, while Brad Potts and Ched Evans will again miss out on Wednesday.

Opposition Focus


Southampton sit fourth in the Championship table ahead of this round of fixtures and five points behind the second automatic spot.

The Saints recently put together an incredible 25-match unbeaten run which catapulted them right towards the top of the division, however three defeats in their previous five matches have slowed down their push.

Buoyed by a last-minute 4-3 victory away to Birmingham City at the weekend, Russell Martin’s side will be desperate to collect as many points as possible before the end of the campaign as they attempt to seal an immediate return to the Premier League.

Match Officials


Referee: Ben Toner
Assistant Referees: Rob Smith and George Byrne
Fourth Official: Gavin Ward

Ben Toner will take charge of a Preston North End fixture for the first time in his career on Wednesday night.

Toner has refereed seven Championship matches during his career, and in total this season he’s shown 120 yellow cards and one red in 24 games

MACS VIEW
New ground for yours truly also think this is the last night away game of the season unless we get a second leg play off fixture(one can dream)
Like the last couple of games should be a fairly open affair, the new fangled way of playing out from the back with your keeper thinks he is Pele is used by the Saints although does seem to be more error prone than most. However if we do get a chance no doubt some errant arm from a defender wil punch the ball away like at Deepdale, think they are favourites but they are slipping slightly in the race for promotion.
Match blog possibly Thursday but having a toe nail removed Thursday afternoon so might be Friday[/b]

[themaclad]

Massive fire next to ground wonderful

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50 miles shy and go home

[Lord Snooty]

Oh dear.

[themaclad]

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[Lord Snooty]

Where were you when you heard?

[themaclad]

Got to Warwick at 2.15 it was on fire then left there at 3 possibly they could have made a decision then but one of those things got to within 50 miles then turned round, two coaches however the other they had an air bag fault which they couldn't fix, needed a replacement coach with wheel chair access. Got one 2nad a half hours later, although someone put on Twitter they met motorway closures
Got home at 8.45 instead of 3.30 not to worry these things happen only thing when they eventually meet could be a game with nothing on it.
One plus getting to see England collapse

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Forgot to add about 30 who were already there went to watch AFC Totton the club gave them free entry

[themaclad]

16/4/24

[themaclad]

Now on telly as well

[themaclad]

Sky bet paying travel costs so it's free to travel

[themaclad]

Let's try this again

LAST TIME OUT





FORM GUIDE

SAINTS 9 PNE 8

WE GOT TO HERE LAST TIME



Who’s Available?


Ryan Lowe confirmed after the Norwich City fixture that midfielder Ali McCann will likely miss the remainder of the season with a thigh strain.

North End were, however, boosted at the weekend by the return of Alan Browne and Ryan Ledson, while Ched Evans got his first minutes since January.

Ben Whiteman, Brad Potts and Liam Millar are all likely to miss out.

Opposition Focus


With at least one game in hand on the three teams above them in the table, fourth-placed Southampton have an opportunity to close the gap – which currently stands at seven points – to the top two.

A few games ago, it may have looked like Saints would have to settle for a Play-Off spot, but some surprising results across the board have made the top two more possible, especially considering they’ve still got to face Leicester City.

Under Russell Martin, Southampton have spent almost the entirety of the campaign towards the top of the table, helped by their remarkable 22-match unbeaten league run between September and February.

Match Officials

Referee: Sam Barrott
Assistant Referees: Daniel Leach and Mark Russell
Fourth Official: Gavin Ward

Sam Barrott will referee Tuesday night’s game, which will be his second North End fixture of the season, following the 2-0 home victory over Bristol City in January.

Barrott has taken charge of 38 games in total so far this campaign, with 15 of those coming in the Premier League. He’s shown 119 yellow cards and three reds so far.

MACS VIEW

When the game was originally scheduled both teams were in decent form however our season basically ended with the defeat on Saturday coupled with the loss of most of our midfield through injury this is likely to be a harder task, Saints win both games in hand will be within one point of the top three
Suspect the Saints will fan the flames from the smouldering ashes of their promotion chances and will be far too hot for us tomorrow night likely to be a towering infferno at St Mary's