Southampton vs Liverpool Aug 17th (St. Mary’s) - 3pm 
“
Some edges cut deep”, were the words staring back at me on my computer keyboard as Tammy Abraham approached his penalty, this evening in Istanbul with Liverpool leading 5-4 in pens.
Fresh off of the Charity Shield match, another LFC poor first half in Istanbul, and the endless jabs this Summer by the anxiety-prone transfer window critics directed at the Champions of Europe, I was thinking how this SuperCup might cut deep into my ‘red pensieve’ or said rather coarsely – father filtered,
takin’ a piss out of my bliss’.And truth be told, our obstacles have been ‘mason’ mounting with a the brutal pre-season schedule, Alisson Becker’s injury, Naby limping off in training, and the poor luck of having to play extra-time. If humilities and calves tore any easier, I might have forgotten that just a few weeks ago Jurgen Klopp was singing Salt N Peppa on national television. Shallow scrapes in the big picture, but unsettling nonetheless.
Well, in these times (where greed, impatience, and overindulgence burst at the seams) I turn to my friend’s book
Faith of our Fathers: Football as a Religion. Al reminds us that our work resides in the rituals, the songs, the worship of the reds with people we love, not where we are in the table in week 2 of the premier league, or how much money we spent in the off-season in some kind of sick keeping-up-with-the-oil-barons sitcom or who we should start, sit, play etc...
Instead, those things will take care of themselves over time, as Jurgen, his staff, the players, and the club have been diligent to demonstrate. If I am reading my faith book correctly, we have to have a bit more Edge with a capital E, a bit more faith (like Jurgen did in Big Div).
As supporters, we have to be able to distinguish between a paper cut (i.e. not getting the exact pretty shiny new toy in the transfer market, developing a case of Man City comparison disease or watching LFC struggle to a win while conceding a few along the way, and lastly overcoming a shitty penalty call), and the deep kind of body blow that knocks the stuffing out a team.
Here’s what a deep body blow looks like.
That’s Me In The Corner, That’s Me In The Spotlight 
Anyhow, I did not intend this OP to be a lecture for readers, but more of a reminder to rekindle some faith along this season’s journey. Summer has flown by quickly and I imagine it has been warp speed for the lads. And, we find ourselves post-Istanbul, making our way Saturday to St. Mary’s for another battle with Liverpool South.
Southampton’s PerspectiveAs we contemplate our faith this season, there is no better adversary than one of the first religious teams to form a football team in the late 1880’s (Southampton), from the St Mary’s church team origins.
The Saints have a relatively new pastor Ralph Hasenhuttl (less than a year with the club after the disastrous start last year of Mauricio Pelligrino/Mark Hughes). He is the 8th manager at St. Mary’s in 6 years.
Their club icon is Matt LeTissier known for sticking with his flock through thick and thin, but the faith of their supporters will be tested this year, as the embers of the hellish relegation battle still smells strongly of sulfur. Saints fans hope Hasenhuttl will solve the wind, letting some of the South Coast breeze in from the Solent to clear the air but help the lads defend better than they did at Zephryus Burnley.
Losing Their ReligionIn Southampton, the last few years has seen a meteoric rise of exciting players, tough-minded hardened-battled games, and series of good runs in the EPL for the Saints.
2012/13 14th Place Adkins/Pochettino
2013/14 8th Place Pochettino
2014/15 7th Place Koeman
2015/16 6th Place Koeman
2016/17 8th Place Puel
2017/18 17th Place Pellegrino/Hughes
2018/19 16th Place Hughes/Hasenhuttl
Selling ClubHowever, the most significant feature of this club is not its youth development program, which is one of the strongest in England. It is not some fantastic, adaptive play using pressing strategies and striking on the counter. It is not even the faith of the Southampton supporters – who have to be one of the most resilient fan bases to have attended matches in the last decade.
No.
The biggest feature of this club is that they are the prototypical “selling” club. Managers move on, players get sold, replaced, and every year the supporters are buried with new players to learn and also with memes like “this is the year the Saints get relegated” type talk for their club. In past years, this kind of insult has been motivation to show how good they are/can be --- 2013 to 2016, they were a top 8 club in one of the greatest leagues in the world. This is not something to squawk at in my opinion.
Lately, they have lost something. To be exact, they have lost too many top players. These losses stick in the saintly craws like a dent in your father's car (caused by you but unable to admit-blamed upon someone else).
Van Dijk was the last in big name transfer who have gone on to shape other top teams’ destiny while leaving larger and larger vacuums in the Saints lineups. Liverpool FC have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Southampton’s willingness to reload over the years, with only Danny Ings making his way south.
Funny that, except 25% of Liverpool’s squad was secured from Southampton, Ricky Lambert notwithstanding,
BEFORE AFTER
At some point, we know the music and faith will stop, like a sick game of musically relegated chairs. Their supporters will sing, “Its the end of the world as we know, but I feel fine”.
How long can Liverpool South keep selling their best players without it causing them to fall out of the Premier League? How long can they keep up with LFC and other top clubs pipping their Mane’s, Lallana’s, and Lovren’s?
On Saturday, we will see which way the wind blows. The home team will have conviction, a few nights of rest and preparation as well as the faith in knowing that a few quick, unforgiving blows could be a deep cut to Liverpool’s title challenge.
Saints are hoping for David. We are hoping for our Goaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllliaths.
Odds Southampton Win - 7.5 to 1
Draw - 5 to 1
Liverpool Win - 1.4 to 1
Head To Head Record Last Five Games Date Competition Southampton 1-3 Liverpool Apr 5, 2019 English Premier League
Liverpool 3-0 Southampton Sep 22, 2018 English Premier League
Southampton 0-2 Liverpool Feb 11, 2018 English Premier League
Liverpool 3-0 Southampton Nov 18, 2017 English Premier League
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton May 7, 2017 English Premier League
Injuries Alisson Yo Adrian 
Southampton Starting XI vs. Burnley: August 10th 2019 at Turf Moor Gunn
(Hojbjerg)
Vestergaard Stephens Bednarek
Valery Romeu Ward-Prowse Bertrand
(Obefemi)
Ings Redmond
(Boufal)
Che AdamsSuper Cup Champions: A Turkey Shoot
SummaryI have to admit my doubt that Saturday’s game at St Mary’s has ALL of the hallmarks of a great big behemoth win by a better team, who has rocketed to the top of World Football in less than two years, coming from a magic carpet ride in Istanbul this evening.
Far more likely, the north Solent winds of change will blow heavy on the coast and our crew will have to acknowledge the force of the southern currents with an occasional spirited sharp reckoning even for the most sturdy of ships. If we anticipate the storm, embrace our faith to carry on through it, and allow ourselves to be changed too, then we will have done right by our fathers!
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