The three opening games at St Mary's in the Premier League saw a swathe of empty seats, but for the visit of Leeds United it seems that Saints supporters are flocking back with very few seats left available.

Whilst the start of this season was always going to be one that in terms of attendances would see big fluctuations, with some clubs like Liverpool still selling out due to demand, the likes of Brentford because of their promotion whilst those in the middle ground perhaps struggling as a combination of holidays, worry about the Covid 19 situation etc meant that some fans would wait and see before returning to the stadiums.

At Southampton there is also the factor that this season has started on the back of an awful run last term, that left a feeling of frustration and doom and gloom which ironically would be reversed had we had last season the over way around and stormed up the League after a poor start.

Sometimes it is all about perspective and topping the Premier League a year ago has now been long forgotten and replaced by an awful run of defeats.

So I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised when I took a look at the club's online ticketing system this morning and saw that only around 1,000 or so tickets remain in the home sections and with Leeds presumably selling their 3,000 allocation if ticket sales follow the trend of the opening three games, these tickets will be snapped up quickly.

For the openers it saw slow sales early on and then picking up in the final days before the game as fans decided whether they wanted to go or not.

This was how it used to be back in the Championship and League One, the floating voter so to speak always left it late, but those that have done that for the visit of Leeds may find that unless they nip in fast then they could find the game sold out.

On the face of it there is no real reason why Leeds should be so popular, of course they are a club with a big reputation, but that comes from the Don Review era of the late 1960's early 70's and I don't think anyone will be expecting Allan Clarke to be playing up front for them on Saturday.

They had a revival in the 1990's winning the last top flight title before the Premier League started, but that was 30 years ago this season and after relegation in 2004 they spent 16 seasons including 3 in League One outside the top flight, indeed since their relegation in 1982 when their glory years ended, including this season they have only spent 16 years out of 40 in top flight football.

So it is amazing that they still maintain that attraction as a big club, Everton who have been far more successful in that 40 year period and indeed have won a lot more than Leeds in their history are not regarded as the same big name.

But whatever the reason for the return of some prodigal sons this weekend it will be good to see a packed out St Mary's for the first time in over 19 months, hopefully it will create the atmosphere that we have seen in the opening games of this season and one that will spur Saints to victory.

Photo: Action Images

ElSanto added 12:40 - Oct 13 Such a huge game. I can't wait to watch it.
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Block8 added 12:59 - Oct 13 Good to see a full ground, hope the noise levels encourage a result. See in another report from Martin Semmens that Saints and Ralph are happy with his backroom staff. In which case any doesn't he consult with them on subs? I'm sure if he did we wouldn't have brought on Djenepo at Chelsea when JWP was red carded, 1-1 at the time, so surely a defensive midfielder or reshuffle was needed? Was the subject of much discussion around me at the time. Our last home match with Leeds we controlled much of the game until Bielsa made a couple of tweaks which stretched out back 3 and Leeds took over completely, without response from Ralph. We need a result to lift the confidence of the players and fans, so let's do our bit and MAKE SOME NOISE!

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reeder added 13:29 - Oct 13 Not optimistic about this one, lose this and tatty bye bye Ralph
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SalisburySaint added 14:00 - Oct 13 Block 8 - Djenepo was brought on for Tella, 4mins before JWP was sent off
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Centurion added 15:24 - Oct 13 A key game. If we lose this one then the club is in a big relegation fight.
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Block8 added 15:56 - Oct 13 Salisbury Saint, I must have drank more than i thought 😱
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Saint4Life247 added 15:21 - Oct 14 There appears to be whispers suggesting that Ralph needs a win this one to keep his job. I'd be surprised if that were true but anything other than a win would put him in an extremely difficult position and heap even more pressure on the following 3 - 4 games. Now is the time to step up Ralph ....COYS!!
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