While the issues surrounding Neil Best's ban are still up for conjecture and to some supporters a little too fresh in the mind for them not to feel that the saints have yet again been hard done by, I urge you all to take a moment, stop, think and remember a previous occasion where saints supporters allowed a ban to very nearly end the season rather spectacularly early. 

I of course refer to the ban Sharky Robinson was handed in the early spring of 2005. Now the who's whys and wherefores of that situation are well known amongst Saints supporters and you certainly shouldn't need me to recall them. 

What I do feel the need to remind supporters is the reaction to the ban which held over the club like an endless black cloud for more than 5 months, indeed carrying right through to the end of that season. 

While at the time it seemed to many, myself included, that we were lost and sunk without Sharky it wasn't until I stopped and took time to watch Johnny Howard carefully that I realized what a chance it was for him to come out of the spot light and make the shirt his own. (ok it didn't quite work out for him and the reasons for this are wide and varied) 

With some careful prompting from some of the playing staff at the time I saw things that I hadn't previously noted, in fact I had taken for granted that they were naturally occurring when they weren't... Box kicks? a sharper pass from the scrum, little things were happening, the problem was that Johnny wasn't quite consistent for many to notice these things actually improve our play. 

Meanwhile the Message boards, the Bus club, St James Worky, the malt shovel, heroes and the Rodbar were all awash with supporters wanting to opine on the loss of Sharky and how we were lost, shot away, done for without this one man. 

Think back to yourself, you might of done this you may have not but many of us will have suffered from some form of doubt over the loss of one man, and lets remember he was just one man. 

Now relay this kind of thinking to today. In my opinion we as supporters can not allow it to happen again. The club has changed so much over the last 18 months its important that we adopt the right attitude and get right behind the boys as we always have before. 

Gone are the days when we relied on 4 or 5 players to play every single week, gone are the time when superstars came first and the squad men meant less than nothing. 
The Team is top of the food chain and we all form part of the team, you, me, King Carlos, Nick Greenhalgh, Lennie Newman, uncle Keith, even Mr Robson. We all answer to the Shirt and those in it. 

Long ago we forgot these things and it hurt us, really bad it lead to us murdered by a thousand paper cuts. We simply cannot allow these festering attitudes to continue because the will the way the boys play and the results we get. 


Plenty of people bask in the opportunities given to them from the RFU ruling, wondering over on a fishing trip, let them. Rise above it and support the boys. 

Look at the fantastic opportunity this is for Hoppers, Mark Easter, Alex Rae and Courtney Lawes. All of them academy lads who have come through the club system. They are going to need our backing and support, its not easy to step up to the plate but I bet you dollars to doughnuts one of these boys will make a name for themselves in the next 4 months. 

So lets not go back to bad habits lets just swallow hard, stand up straight and take one on the chin for Bestie, we all know how bad he must be feeling right now. Again while he hasn't been at the club for long we still have to take on the responsibility of supporting him regardless. He is one of ours, one of us, one of the saints, part of the team, the family dressed in Green Black and Gold. 


Whilst watching Bedford Blues take on Exeter Chiefs on Saturday I frequently recall hearing our kid tell his young charges to "calm down! do your jobs!" 

And now I call on you all to calm down and do your jobs. 

Lets get after this premiership mob and show them that were back where we belong not because we walked ND1 at a canter but because we have changed, we are better than before, the cancerous attitudes have gone and nothing will stop us all as a team, a family, a club, moving forward, taking scalps and turning heads.... 


Come on you saints!!!    

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