Tottenham Hotspur supporters are not known for their originality when it comes to songs, now is the time for Saints fans to show them just whose song it really is !
In recent years supporters of Tottenham Hotspur seem to have abandoned their more traditional songs of "Glory glory Tottenham Hotspur" and "Sack the manager" and have tried to claim Southampton Football Club's battle anthem of "Oh When The Saints Go marching In".
For some reason unexplained due to their failure to win not that much more than us in terms of League titles they have an arrogance about them when it comes to clubs such as ourselves, so their attempts to steal our song and make it their own sticks in our throats.
Thay don't seem to realise that the clue is in the title, its is a song associated with Southampton, it always has been and always will be and that trying to make it their own anthem is not impressing other football fans but merely adding to the general perception that although they were once a great club known for their integrity, today's Tottenham Hotspur is far from the Spurs of Bill Nicholson and whether its in poaching manager's player's or another club's songs, they now plagiarise rather than find something original and make it their own.
Even their acknowledged club anthem of Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur, although widely associated with Spurs rather than the host of other clubs who have used it including Leeds United and Manchester united to name but two, was stolen from Hibernian in Scotland who first adopted the song ( The original tune is The Battle Hymn Of The Republic from the American civil war) in the 1950's when Hector Nichol released a version on record called Glory Glory to the Hibee's.
Spurs have been associated with Glory Glory since the 1960's and a version of this was the B side to the single Ossie's Dream back in 1981, this record also featured cockney singing duo Chas & Dave, ironic because although Spurs are in London cockney's are traditionally born within the sound of Bow Bell's in East London, Spurs are North London, ata pinch North east london, but far from within earshot of Bow.
Again an example of Spurs taking culture from another club (in this case West Ham) and trying to take it as their own.
But that was perhaps typical of Spurs and their repetoire of songs over the years, why invent your own style and own songs when you can steal someone else's, indeed perhaps the club emblem should be the Cuckoo rather than the Cockerel, a cuckoo being a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of others.
So on Saturday Spurs fans will arrive at St Mary's and try to belt out their version of When the Saints go marching in, some Saints fans will try to drown it out with our own version, this works as we have more voices than them, some will try to drown it out with boo's and that again could work.
But the real way to stop it is to make sure they don't get the chance to make themselves heard, if the Northam End get behind the team and the rest of the ground join in then the atmosphere will be cranked up and that can only be good for Saints on the pitch.
I would suggest though that the Northam End don't come up with anything too original on the day otherwise Spurs fans will surely be making notes and will be singing it with gusto and claiming it as their own within the week, its the Spurs way !