A social media post published by the official Southampton account on X has come under fire from Sunderland fans after the Saints' 4-2 victory over the Black Cats on Saturday afternoon. Southampton forward, Adam Armstrong scored twice on the day and it was his Newcastle past that the Saints social media admin leaned on to draw a reaction from Sunderland.
Armstrong came through the academy at Newcastle but never really made his mark at the club. However, that didn't stop Sunderland fans from taking offence to a picture posted of the forward alongside the caption “Howay The Lads” – a phrase used famously by Newcastle United and their supporters.
One Sunderland fan replied to the post, calling it “absolutely pathetic” while another said “Oooo Newcastle! Look as me! Look at me!”. A third posted “The phrase ‘Tinpot’ gets hoyed about a lot, but twerking for the mags is mad!”
Other Sunderland fans were quick to remind Southampton of Newcastle's recent results against them. One said: “Didn’t Newcastle knock these out of a major trophy semi-final last year? Embarrassing” while another said “Can't believe they're twerking for a club that put about 50 goals past them last year.”
HOWAY THE LADS 😤 pic.twitter.com/g5TcUKvl0Q
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) March 9, 2024
Newcastle and Southampton fans revel in the reaction
The tweet went down well with both Newcastle and Southampton supporters and the furor it caused was seemingly the icing on the cake. A Newcastle fan in the comments credited the admin for “excellent work” while another said “The admin can spell Howay correctly, unlike the Mackems” in reference to the fact Sunderland use the phrase “Ha'way the Lads”.
Southampton fans were more bewildered by the response that the tweet received. A Saints fan posted: “Why are Sunderland fans rattled by that tweet? We have a Geordie in our squad!” However, there were others who didn't approve with one Southampton fan saying “I thought we left this kind of behaviour behind in league one, tinpot as anything lads.”