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On This Day In History 28th March
Saturday, 28th Mar 2020 09:08

Most Saints fans over the age of 16 will remember exactly where they were 10 years ago today, Wembley Stadium for the Jonhstone's Paint Trophy Final.

No one was pretending this was a major trophy when we headed up to Wembley in March 2010, what it was was a celebration that Southampton Football Club was actually still alive and kicking given that 12 months earlier it had been heading into administration and very nearly liquidation.

The man who saved the club was Markus Liebherr and this was seen as his day, this became even more poignant and indeed relevant after his sad death less than 6 months later.

It was also the first time our famous & iconic red & white stripes would be worn by the club at Wembley, on our 4 appearances at the old Stadium we wore yellow & blue in the FA & League cup finals in the 70's and appallingly blue shirts in the Zenith Data cup of 1992.

We wore red & white stripes in the Charity Shield of 1976, but they were the Admiral wallpaper design that was worn for the first time ever when we played Liverpool that day, yes they were stripes, but not the traditional kit that we are known for.

Carlisle were the opponents for this game, our first visit to the new stadium, the attendance was 73,476, most of the crowd were supporting Saints who although officially had sold around 50,000 tickets, many Saints fans had got tickets from other sources and direct from Wembley, I would hazard a guess that Carlisle had around 15,000 on the day.

WE could have sold far far more tickets and the club tried to get more, but swathes of seats were empty and the authorities refused to sell them.

The game got off to a good start for Saints Rickie Lambert scoring a trade mark blasted penalty after only 15 minutes, then Adam Lallana headed home on the cusp of half time and Papa Waigo sealed the game on 50 minutes, before loanee Mikail Antonio made it four on the hour.

The game was over now as a contest and Saints ran down time and made their three substitutions to give as many as possible a game, certainly it seemed that Alan Pardew was keen to make sure that those who had played a part in keeping the club alive and it's revival got their reward.

But for Saints fans it was not about winning a trophy, we reserve open top bus tours only for major trophies and nothing else, we enjoyed the day out we enjoyed the game enjoyed seeing us pick up a cup, but ask anyone for their memory of that day and they will say Markus Liebherr.

He was there in the Royal Box taking photos with a big smile on his face, this day was about him and for him.

So what were your memories of the game ? Can you name all the players who played that day ?

Using the link below see if you can name the team in our Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final quiz.

https://www.sporcle.com/games/theuglyinside/southampton-2010-johnstones-paint-tr

Photo: Action Images



Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.



Boris1977 added 09:51 - Mar 28
A wonderful day, a wonderful season and a feeling that our club was secure and on the up again thanks to the incredible Marcus Liebherr. That is my favourite picture of him a quiet understated pride in what he enabled Saints to achieve. We will never forget what he did for our club. Coyrs
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Shakin_Stevens added 14:59 - Mar 28
Lovely stuff, can't believe it was 10 years ago. What was the name of that awful nightclub that ran out of booze 🤔
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