BBC are ok in my book though. The BBC news seems to be getting a bit more **** lately. But least it isn't owned by Murdoch. Amazon will be a big challenge soon, they are looking to get into live sports.
oh sorry, I thought we were buying a Chinese club which didn't make sense! Maybe the title should have been "Chinese group in take-over talks with Saints"
It isn't just ticket prices though is it. There is a vast choice of things to do at the weekends nowadays including staying at home watching for free or playing on the playstation or etc, etc. Say you want to go to footie with your kids at Saints. Tickets might come to £70? But add to that travel, a few pints and softies for the kids, snacks etc. The matchday experience is so expensive these days that it just isn't viable to do it every other week anymore. Even in lower leagues. Eastleigh's season ticket is £120. Yes it is lower league footie but I bet their carpet burgers are cheaper than Southampton's carpet burgers and their support is probably much more local so transport doesn't become a huge cost addition. It becomes a huge commitment and the crowds at Prem clubs are increasingly the well off or comfortable. Life in the UK isn't too expensive until you want to be entertained and then nothing is normal. Anything not local costs a fortune to get to and if you want a family day out make sure you have a couple of hundred spare in your pocket. Its one reason I started going to Lincoln City again. Their advertised ticket prices are £18 adult on the door / £16 by ticjet but my 2 boys are in the junior imps fan club which means They can get in free to the junior section with accompanying adults paying £10 for their tickets. Even so my Saturday's out cost: Bus to City for 1 adult and 2 kids return = £8.40. I live a mile and a half from the bus station!!! £8.40 for 3 people to do a 3 mile round trip. 1 adult and 2 kid tickets = £10 Beer/Cokes before hand = £5 3 "foot long" Lincolnshire sausage hot dogs = £9 Beers after and cokes after = £10 Leave the house at 1pm get back at 6:30ish so that is a total of £42.40 for a day out and very enjoyable. Times that by a month which is normally 3 or so games and you have £127.20 a month just on football. How much would that month cost for a Saints fan? How much do you guys actually spend on the "day?" I certainly couldn't afford more than I pay at the moment and lower league football is starting to become more "hipster" as well as people getting priced out of the PL experience. It isn't just about tickets but that is a part of it.
I completely agree that it is far more than just the ticket price that increases with the tag of premier league football. However all the added extras, aside from transport in certain cases, are optional. I am currently a student and have been very poor over the past 2 years. However, at times I would save for a few months for a saints game and just avoid the cost of beer, burgers and programmes etc. I'd save just enough for transport from Bristol and a ticket, but that would do me just fine.
I'm obviously forgetting something from above because I take £60 out the bank normally and get home with a fiver or less but still for a day out it is cheaper than Saints tickets would cost me on their own I suspect.
People don't have to buy food there at all. I have huge sympathy for anyone who can't afford to do what they want to do entertainment wise, however I think it only right that you don't build in unnecessary costs. People don't have to have drinks and food before the game in a pub or at the ground. When my son and I first got season tickets, I weighed up the costs and what we could do and decided that we'd take home made sandwiches to each game and either eat them in the car going down, or if kick off was close to a meal time (let's be honest, it isn't usually, so extra food isn't always necessary) we'd eat them in the ground. In recent seasons we have met people in the pub and I am lucky to be able to make the decision to do that or budget to do that, however if I couldn't (and when I couldn't) that part doesn't happen. Imps - please don't accuse me of being rude here, but a genuine question that I hope idoesn't offend. Are you and your boys not able to walk the mile and a half for Lincoln games? That would save you another £8.40. Might be because your boys are too young for a long walk and apologies if there is any physical difficulties for not walking (I clearly am not knowing if there is).
Bugger off, FLT. Being all reasonable and that. This is a bleedin' forum where we scream **** things at each other. Sorry, so sorry. Thought I was on Saints web there for a moment. But you make an interesting point. My matchday experience for a home game costs me more than my weekly State Pension, as my wife will occasionally point out. In best Rumpole* style, I do remind her that she fritters money on the likes of dishwasher tablets and that usually closes the discussion. Luckily this is not our only income and so we can afford it - I go without luxuries like food all week. When I was a sole earner with 4 young kids, getting to a match was a big deal. Home games only happened if we were down South visiting family, but luckily Saints would visit the North West quite a lot. There were no extras.It was cost of admission and cheapest travel possible. We had friends conveniently located in places like Manchester and Bolton, and we were living in Liverpool so travel to a match could be combined with other social stuff. Now, if I couldn't afford a couple of pints (at Southampton bloody prices!) and some decent pub grub with my season ticket-holding mates I might re-consider. Let's face it, matchdays are quite often ruined beyond belief once the match kicks off! Football supporting is like sex. The more you do it the more you want to. I read this last bit. At my age I can't remember the feeling, but Nick Hornby commented on the addictive nature of football in Fever Pitch. I get where Imps is coming from. My advice to him would be keep taking them to Lincoln but tell them how crap they are and that one day they'll be able to go to see a proper team. This was the advice I gave mine when I was taking them to see the likes of Tranmere and Chester when they were kids. They all took my advice. 3 now support Liverpool and one Man Utd. Be careful Imps. * If you don't know Rumpole, make a resolution to read some. Brilliant character and great writer. If you haven't read Fever Pitch shame on you!
I think you have all hit the nail on the head. It is expensive to go to football - especially with a family. Luckily, I only have to worry about myself now, but looking back I'm not sure how I used to take my daughter. Well I do. I drove and didn't eat (like FLT says above, we took sandwiches etc). Now my match day costs are: Ticket - season ticket so already paid for. Travel: if train £11 + £8 taxi somewhere either to or from station, if drive £13, if lift £5 (the passenger pays for the car park) Lunch: £7 pre match drinks £15 if not driving, £5 if driving (diet cokes only!) at the match £15 if not driving on wine, £3 on coffee if driving So without the ticket, that is worst case scenario of £67 if not driving and £28 if driving. There are around 22 home games (inc cups). I probably drive for 6 and drink for 16. So my annual cost is approx: £750 Season ticket £1240 Travel/entertainment...lets call it 'Matchday experience) Near on £2k. WOW. Don't tell the wife. There is a but. As you get older, you have different priorities. I don't smoke, only really drink at home and the wife and I have a 'date night' once every two weeks. We still manage 2-3 holidays year (the daughter growing up was the best thing that happened to us )So is it that bad? However, if the wife started liking football and we all of a sudden had two more kids (HIGHLY, HIGHLY unlikely!!!!), The simple truth is we wouldn't go to football. There lies the real issue. Football is now beyond most families, and if the truth be said probably beyond most younger and older people. The only way you can go is by making your kids pay for themselves and ensuring the wife/husband hates football so doesn't go...
To watch the Saints costs the very lovely Mrs Godders and me £28 a week for two season tickets spread across the year. I save monthly for this so I have the money ready when it is time for renewal. I just hope they don't increase the price as I don't want to move somewhere else cheaper in the ground as I may end up sitting with nice people and ruin things for them with my flatulence problem and irritableness. I like sitting where I am as I can argue with the blokes behind who, having no Pele to pick on, have turned on PEH who I think could be the next Morgan in the making. The very lovely Mrs Godders makes a flask of tea for half time. She used to make cheese and pickle sandwiches but they gave me indigestion so now it is just a dry biscuit. We travel in and back on the bus using our bus passes which I wave at all the University students and thank them as I make my way to my seat. I like to swear at them if they are seating in the seats reserved for the disabled and elderly. I am a very popular well known figure in our neighbourhood you know.So far I have been able to afford to go to Europa and League Cup games as the prices have been cheap for us old gits. As for away games we always try to fit in Swansea as we can stay with the in-laws and make it an extended family visit. Personally I would rather just go for the football and come straight home but FFS don't tell the very lovely Mrs Godders I said that.
Per match: I spend about £3 on fuel Bus over the Itchen bridge between £1.50-£2 Chips after game £3 Programme £4 Ticket So I tend to go to cup games. I went to all 3 home Europa's, got a ticket to Liverpool Semi Final, went to Checkatrade vs Crawley, vs Sunderland and Palace in the Cup. Never went to an away match in my life until Inter (£375 I'd say). Haven't been to a league game this season. Bought Membership for first time. It's expensive but I've not been priced out of going, I just don't go as much as I'd like. Automatic Category A for last match of the season is annoying though.
My Season Ticket takes a serious chunk of my Pension every year. I walk to and from St Marys (Approx. 50 minutes), Cost = wear and tear on shoes. I rarely eat or drink at the Stadium. Programme I always buy two £8.00. I don't do away games any more. I try to get to as many of the additional home games as possible at all levels. For various reason the group I used to share the games with, have all stopped going. One is now a steward, one has changed her job, one decided she was too old, and another has changed loyalty to Eastleigh FC. None of the decisions were down to cost of going.
I've been to only one match this season, inter away. Flights £50 Hotel £120 Loss of wages £400 Extra travel £40 Food and beer £250+ Tickets £45 ( i bought back up ticket in inter end ). Total cost £905!!!!! Was it worth it? YES! Would I change anything other than the result? NO!
Our costs: About £49 for the share of the season ticket. Walk to the stadium, 2.5 miles On the way stop for a pint and a soft drink with the Not606ers. About £5 Drink at half time (water brought from home in a bottle.) £0.01 Walk home, 2.5 miles So £54.01 for two of us. Five mile walk included free of charge. Vin
