Franny Benali may well have played most of his career, and scored his single career goal, at The Dell, but he did have a few seasons at St Mary’s Stadium from the 2001 move to his retirement three years later.
In fact, throughout the historic ground’s successor’s 25 years, it can be argued that it has been the host of Benali’s greatest memories away from the pitch:
Benali was 32 when the club he had been playing for since 1988 moved to their new home which put an end to the club’s 103-year stay at their old and historic stomping ground:
“The move here to St Mary’s was towards the end of my playing days. So, the bulk of my career was spent at the Dell.
“I was part of a group of players that had all just come up through our careers at the Dell, and that’s all we’d ever known.
Though it meant leaving a place he loved so much, even Franny was excited at the prospect of the shiny new St Mary’s Stadium
“The move here was an exciting one, really exciting to come to St Mary’s.
“It was pretty different to what it is today, the hospitality suites have changed massively and the footprint of the football club on the outside of the ground as well has changed a lot.
“There’s lots that’s happened in 25 years on reflection.”
The first few months at their new home were very tough for the club. They didn’t win at the ground until November when Marian Pahars scored to beat Charlton 1-0:
“On reflection, from a football perspective, looking back on it was quite a tricky one to get used to new surroundings.
“Having been so accustomed to literally knowing every inch of the Dell, it felt quite strange coming to a modern state-of-the-art stadium to then make it feel homely for us. So, it did take a while to settle in on the football front.”
Benali was also very appreciative that his career longevity allowed him to be one of the first to play at the stadium:
“Most definitely. I think it’s been talked about for years and years.
“There was talk about the stadium maybe going out towards Stoneham and Eastleigh at one point. I think it was always on the club’s radar that we’d have to move to a larger location or a bigger capacity at some stage.
“To be part of that whilst I was still playing was exciting at that point.
“I’m pleased that I got to play both at Dell and here at St Mary’s during my playing days.”
Despite spending nearly 13 years at the Dell, and just three at St Mary’s, or even less if you count his 2004 loan move to Nottingham Forest, the 32,000 seater stadium has found a place in Franny’s heart:
“The fact that we’ve been here now 25 years, there’s so many memories here, for sure.
“So nice, so grateful to have experienced many things here on and off the pitch, but I think maybe that’s just something that we all fall into a little bit as we age.
“There’s always that little bit of a special place that the Dell will hold, given that we experienced that for so long.
“The new memories are being made here now and there’s a generation of supporters that have only ever probably known St Mary’s and never got to experience the Dell.
“It’s all about living in the present and reflecting and remembering the past and enjoying that, looking back on it, but very much living here today and creating the memories in the future.”
Franny has become known for his legendary, in Southampton at least, fitness challenges and it has been St Mary’s role in those that is his greatest memory:
“I think from a purely personal perspective, it would be having the opportunity of finishing two of my three challenges that I did a number of years ago.
“Effectively, St Mary’s Stadium was the finish line for me on two of those challenges and getting an opportunity to do a lap of the pitch on a match day was very, very special for me, my family and the support team.”
Clearly, Franny is proud of the first 25 years, so what would he like to see in the next quarter of a century?
“I think the non-football side of things has got to be different and improve and change in many ways to compete on the pitch.
“With financial regulations and rules now, we’ve got to generate income. That’s not just from a football perspective, it’s on the other side. I’m excited about what that’s going to look like in the future for the next 25 years.
“I’m also really excited about the future of the football club on the pitch. Clearly, it’s a priority for so many supporters and fans.
“They want to see a successful, exciting team that they can support here at the stadium and I think that will go hand-in-hand with the off-pitch stuff.
“I’m really looking forward to hopefully being excited about another 25 years and maybe sat here in 50 years celebrating the 50th anniversary of St Mary’s.”
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