Stop and THINK

There's going to be a lot of anger and a lot of vitriol. The atmosphere is going to be intense and, despite his claims as the match approaches about "wondering if it's worth it", Redknapp knew what he was getting in to when he jumped the divide. He knew full well the strength of feeling, as did those who followed him. Sunday's game is going to see a lot of chanting and a lot of abuse. So be it, it's part and parcel of the game - footballers are used to playing in tough conditions and get on with it.

But what is so amazingly crucial and far more important than any football result is what happens off the pitch. The game last March was overshadowed by the riot that followed, and we WON the game. The actions of those "fans" who took part led to over 100 arrests, nearly 100 imprisonments and multiple banning orders. The simple fact is that people won't get away with it. Regardless of the result, we need to make sure the headlines on Sunday are about the football and nothing else.

Unfortunately, I feel like it's a lost cause. There's been talk in pubs, there's been talk in the media, there's been talk on the messageboards. People want trouble and people are planning trouble; if it wasn't football they'd be out on Saturday night and nutting someone in a club anyway, but this is just a handy excuse and unfortunately it seems inevitable - and it's so disappointing to know that there's a high chance that some citizens of this city won't be able to rub two brain cells together and behave themselves this weekend. Particularly the younger generation coming through who, on the back of watching "Football Factory" a couple of times, now feel the need to wander around aimlessly before and after games in packs trying to "start a ruck", preferably with "some pigs".

Even so, and despite the long odds of the game going off calmly, this may well be the first time I use this site for a serious cause and I make a serious plea - to those planning something - don't bother. Stay the hell away. You're not doing the club, the fans, the players - anyone - any good. What's it going to achieve?

I know Southampton fans. I work with Southampton fans. If I get a brain tumour, I might end up going to the Southampton Neurological Unit and - shock - have my life saved by "a scummer". I don't like Harry Redknapp. I don't like Nigel Quashie. I wish humiliating defeat on their football team every weekend. But their fans are people following their team, as we do in numbers every week. They're not a different race from a faraway magic land, they're just people. Keep it in context.

I'm not naive enough to think this is going to make any difference. Hopefully, the adverts being pumped onto The Quay with Linvoy and Dejan, the bus stop posters warning of multiple arrests and heavy police presence will be enough of a deterent. But my final attempt at a plea, all the same, is that if people are STILL determined to cause trouble (as they no doubt will be), do it away from the ground. Don't drag the club's name through the mud. If you and your knuckle dragging friends want to bash some heads together, go and do it in a field somewhere out of the city away from innocent people on both sides who have no interest in getting involved. Don't risk fines and points deductions with pointless attempted-macho activities inside Fratton Park itself.

Let's have the right headlines, unlike last season.