Hats off to Southampton FC for doing the right thing. On Friday night, the Saints suffered a thrashing, 9-0 at the hands of Leicester City. It served as the largest margin of defeat by a home side in Premier League history. And it tied 1995 Manchester United’s 9-0 shellacking of Ipswich Town as the most lopsided game in Premier League history.
Thus, one could easily say that the Southampton FC players and coaches didn’t proverbially show up to work that day. It’s an understatement to say that they “had a bad day at the office.” And with that in mind, the south coast club is taking full accountability and responsibility.
All of the first team players and coaching staff will be donating their Friday earnings to the club’s charity arm, Saints Foundation.
This was announced by the club early this morning, with a statement, which reads in part:
The squad has been in at Staplewood Campus throughout the weekend, working on putting things right for the club’s supporters.
As the first step towards that, the group has decided that they wish to donate their wages from the day of the Leicester game to Saints Foundation, in order to help the vital work that is conducted by the charity.
Saints Foundation works with 12,000 young people and adults of all ages every year, using the power and passion of sport to transform lives.
This is so very refreshing to see right now, given the lack of personal responsibility and accountability that seems to be running rampant in global society these days.
Southampton FC have a double at Manchester City this week. They’ll battle the reigning domestic treble holders in the ELF Cup tomorrow night and then again in the league on Saturday.
Southampton FC at Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Tues Oct 29, 745 BST, City of Manchester Stadium
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Prediction: Manchester City 5, Southampton FC 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No,I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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