Former Portsmouth keeper David James takes hilarious swipe at Southampton v Man Utd atmosphere - and Blues fans are loving it

Former Pompey keeper David James compared the atmosphere at Southampton’s home match against Manchester United to that of a test cricket game.
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And his scornful comment on Twitter has gone down well with Blues supporters, who are loving their ex-player’s dig at the St Mary’s crowd.

Today’s Premier League clash was the Saints’ first without Covid-enforced restrictions on spectator numbers since the visit of Newcastle to the south coast in March 2020.

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Ticketing problems were experienced by the club before and after kick-off, with Southampton issuing an apology to fans during the encounter.

Yet that didn’t stop James taking a swipe at the noise levels generated inside the ground – particularly when the home side had taken a 30th-minute lead through Che Adams’ deflected shot off Manchester United midfielder Fred.

Posting a comment on Twitter during the first half, the former England keeper sarcastically wondered whether he had accidentally changed the settings on his TV to ‘test cricket sound effects’.

He tweeted: ‘So, watching @SouthamptonFC lead 1-0 v @ManUtd, with a crowd at the stadium.

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‘I may need to change the audio settings, I'm sure I've got mine set to test cricket crowd effects.’

Former Pompey keeper David James was surprised by the lack of atmosphere at St Mary's today, while Southampton fans, right, only found their voice after taking a 30th-minute lead against Manchester United  - not that it lasted long!  Picture:  Michael Steele/Getty ImagesFormer Pompey keeper David James was surprised by the lack of atmosphere at St Mary's today, while Southampton fans, right, only found their voice after taking a 30th-minute lead against Manchester United  - not that it lasted long!  Picture:  Michael Steele/Getty Images
Former Pompey keeper David James was surprised by the lack of atmosphere at St Mary's today, while Southampton fans, right, only found their voice after taking a 30th-minute lead against Manchester United - not that it lasted long! Picture: Michael Steele/Getty Images

The game eventually ended in a 1-1 draw, with Mason Greenwood cancelling out Fred’s own goal in the 55th minute.

The result was meet with a chorus of noise from the home support at the final whistle as the Saints put their 3-1 opening day defeat at Everton behind them.

However, it hasn’t stopped Pompey fans poking fun at their neighbours up the road, all thanks to James’ scathing remark.

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Responding to the tweet, @JuddPFC95 said: Harsh on Test Cricket fans imo, they make much more noise.

@pompeypaul72 commented: ‘I was about to ask @SkyFootball if they could put their ‘augmented crowd fx’ back on that they used last season to make it feel like there was at atmosphere. Shocking.

@ReeceW657 posted: Build this man a statue x

@Langley25R asked: When have you ever known them lot to make any noise Jamo?

Meanwhile, @NathanLee23 simply stated: Jamo is a Pompey legend.