By West Midlands Saint
June 8 2002

He's changed the words to every song in the western hemisphere, in the name of Saints. He's made tributes to regulars on the board and he's brightened our days with comic timing. But West Midlands Saint saved the best until last with his epic: "WHAT A SEASON!" WHAT A SEASON- 2001/02

It started way back in September
With a trip to the west and the Shed
The sun it was hot - we were confident
But got burned and our faces were red.

We couldn't get hold of the ball that day
And many who'd made the long trek
Felt the only thing worth shouting about
Was when Junior attacked AB's neck.

But that loss, though great, was forgotten
And to insignificance paled
For seven days later down Jimmy's End
The new stands were duly unveiled.

Once again the sun was shining
The stadium filled us with pride.
But this time the Saints were more like it
And Bath could find no place to hide.

Next was a visit to Yorkshire
And the team was now falling in place.
A vict'ry away from the Gardens
Put a smile upon everyone's face.

But the following week down at Vicarage Road
When the kids were expected to play,
The squad, it appeared, was rather too thin
When the kilted McSaints were away.

The boys played hard and could eas'ly have won
But no-one could ground the damned ball
And our beloved Saints, it seemed
Were heading for a fall.

The Heineken came along too soon
But what a glorious sight!
An incredible number of Jimmy's shirts
In Cardiff that Friday night.

The natives were friendly, the craic was good
When we went to the pub there to eat.
And forlorn, in the corner of the bar
Was sad Carlos, slumped down in his seat.

"Cheer up, young man and have a pint
The result was not as planned.
But we'll tan those boyo's backsides
When they come to Ingerland"

So Glasgae came to Northampton
A win was on the cards.
My favourite try of the season
Budge's drive from 30 yards.

And so to the Grand Opening
Our first taste of Rodder's Bar
A lovely day, the Gardens full
The BEST IN THE LAND by far.

A speech from Geech and fireworks
But what more can I say?
Those nasty Tigs from up the road
Just 'had to'spoil our day.

John Leslie scored a breakaway
This time we'd surely win
If tiggers game was true to form
They'd all be in the bin.

But no! once more it weren't our day
Oh Hell! Oh damn it! Bum!
We once more muttered to ourselves
"One day our time will come!"

That loss it knocked our confidence
The next week up at Sharks
But they'd forgot to tell us
'Bout the motorway 'Car Parks'

The Jimmies could do nothing right
But for a try by Ben
And all Saints true supporters
Could see a problem then.

We'd lost too many players
But who could put it right?
Even Uncle Keith was worried
And we could see his plight.

We then had back to back tough games
Against a team from France
Their pack was big, their backs were quick
And we were led a dance.

A home draw 'gainst the Harlequins
Was again a hammer's blow
But the next week at the Mad Jet
Was the lowest of the low.

We'd lost our Internationals
A system that is daft
But I wanted the earth to swallow me
When the Irish fans just laughed.

A team that we should beat each year
Just as a matter of course
Had overtaken Jimmies
To become a major force.

A loss at home to Bristol
Our anger at the ref
As we let off steam to defend our team
I hope the man was deaf.

But then - the news we wanted
Yes Wayne was on his way
No-one expected miracles
But the sky turned blue from grey.

He hadn't even met the team
At Falcons, his first match
But yes! There WAS a miracle
On the scale of Austin's thatch.

Just what happened there in Newcastle
Surely no-one knows
Suddenly all from Jimmy's End
Forgot their earlier woes.

The Saints they went unbeaten
In December and January
Except for one irrelevant
Game up in Glasgae.

Revenge against the Irish
Seemed to upset their coach
But looking in a mirror
He is not above reproach.

We beat the Pests and Harlequins
That vict'ry's always nice.
But we couldn't play the Shoguns
'Cos their pitch was hard as ice.

As promised we beat Cardiff
And you might think I'm barmy.
But when we went to Saracens
We took a ruddy army.

The month of Feb was not so good
Though Wally made us proud
We lost to Sharks and Tigers
That made Smudger shout aloud.

The worst display he'd ever seen
No Wayne was not impressed.
But if those two games had been the worst
The Semi was the best.

Two different halves of Rugby
Attacking and defence.
But the boys from 1 to 15
Yes each one was immense.

Then Jimmies hit a purple patch
They scored so many tries
They made the other Zippee clubs
Look like Div 2 in disguise.

Newcastle and Gloucester
Leeds Tykes, Bath away
The Jimmies could beat anyone
That stood and blocked their way.

The backs scored tries, the pack scored tries
The rugby was devine
The Powergen at Twickenham?
Well that would be just fine.

But were we over confident
Or perhaps too well prepared
With 30,000 Jimmy's Fans
Were we just plain scared.

For whatever reason,
The Irish, fair and square
Won the day at Twickenham
On the day we showed no flair.

But we're used to that at Jimmy's End
We gave the lads a cheer
We shrugged our shoulders, held our heads
Up high and drank more beer.

We went home to the Gardens
And made our feelings Known
Through thick and thin, good times and bad
We're Jimmies to the bone.

Then back on track 'gainst Sarries
The lads looked tired at Pests
We once again beat Newcastle
Now back to their best.

We beat the Shoguns on their patch
We were aiming for top four.
But by now the lads were knackered
And could really give no more.

We'd finished up in 5th place
Better than once we'd thought
We went back to the Mad Jet
But the Irish sold us short.

We beat their weakened, 'second' string
And Smudger said his piece
"A Cup - from Monty Python"
Would this season never cease?

We lost the play off semi
Though no-one really cared
We'd all enjoyed the rugby
That the team and fans both shared.

My own high spot - the Sarries game
When my Ben led them out.
That was one of the proudest moments
Of my life - absolutely no doubt!

It was a rollercoaster
Though the track went mostly up
NO PRESSURE FOR NEXT SEASON LADS
JUST THE ZIPPEE AND EURO CUP.

Thanks for yet another cracking season of fun, frivolity and friendship.

wms