I guess so, but perhaps on a wider issue, I get the feeling that many Saints fans are having false expectations... and perhaps using them as an excuse not to get ST's or go to games. Will Saints improve if we keep all our players & manager? Maybe, maybe not. We might get "found out" next season and be back down the table. Will Saints be higher in the table than 7th or 8th? Maybe, but logic should really dictate that we won't because the clubs ahead of us all spend far more than we do (bar Everton maybe). Man utd won't have another crap season, Spurs might, the other clubs will be there or there about. We will NOT be in the Champions League spots, we simply won't. No posting on the internet or twitter about being "ambitious" is going to make that happen. So, do you accept just inside the top ten/midtable, with the possiblity of being drawn into a relegation battle, along with 70% of the rest of the teams in the League every season? Or is it quality of football? Well, how can anyone right now, or even before a ball has been kicked, know how we will play next season? You can certainly base your ST decision upon your personal circumstances, just not sure how it can be based upon "crystal ball gazing"?
I do agree with this. My decision to get a season ticket or not, is solely based on affordability. That also means, if things maybe tight, what else could I go without or sacrifice to get one. How we are doing is not my barometer for purchase of the ticket. hope the kids like bread and water
What has you out in Whistler now that the season is almost over? Would you or have you flown back for a big game(s)? I was a frequent visitor to Whistler for 2 years in the 90s when living in Vancouver and flew back in 96 for the FA Cup Qtr Final that we lost to United (most expensive away game I have ever done!) To keep on post, I renewed my ST the day the renewals came out, didn't see much point in delaying and forgetting - you support the team no matter who the players are, however that should be caveated with if you can afford to. I'd say that if you are on the fence as to really whether you can afford one then don't and get to the home games that you feel you can afford at the time
I'm actually back from there now and just living in a different part of the UK - I hadn't even noticed I had forgotten to update that so thanks! As it turns out though I was out for nearly a whole year. You would be surprised at how big the summer season is - perhaps even bigger than the winter as there is much more to do (hiking, biking, walking, going to the lake etc). I have some friends still out there who are currently enjoying skiing in shorts and a t-shirt - spring skiing is great! Anyway sorry to go horribly OT everyone To get back on topic I look forward to the day I have the finances to get my own ST. Right now the price of the ticket wouldn't put me off so much, but combined with the travel expenses each weekend it's a bit much. At least with the premier league compared to the championship there is a clear lack of midweek games. This is very easy for me to say but I don't think the performance of our players would effect my decision in getting an ST or not. I went to a lot of away games in particular in the 08/09 season and we all know how rubbish that was.
Tony Pulis' claret & blue men are my locals so I'm not even a million miles away. With railcard tickets are still £25+ return from Clapham Junction though
To be honest, if I only bought season tickets when I thought Saints were pushing for Europe, I'd have saved a fortune. I followed them down to the Championship and would have followed them to league 1 if I hadn't had to start working on Saturdays. I managed to go to quite a few games by buying single tickets until last year when I was poorly. I will try to go again next season...nothing to do with manager and players. It's nice to have a season ticket, but not essential. If money we get from any player sales is invested, there is no reason we can't have another good season...perhaps better. No one knows.
I buy them and them think of the finances later. Driving down from London week in, week out and up to (most of) the away games is incredibly expensive. The real pisstake is when clubs charge £50 for an away ticket. Means a trip to City costs £100 for 2 tickets plus about £50 in petrol money. Bit steep!
I'm not getting a season ticket because we didn't qualify for the champions league. And the fact that rent, food, car and keeping the missus happy takes up most of my money.
I bought my first ST on our way up from L1 in the championship after going to most games the two seasons before, match by match - I thought I'd save myself some money. So I've not really had it all that long, but I've seen us shoot up the leagues. I just can't afford to renew this year; I really want too, but the approx ~£700 is just too much for me. It's not so much that I don't have the money, I just have other things it needs to be spent on - I got married in our first Prem season back (missed a home game because of that, but it was a loss to QPR so I 've forgiven her) our flat needs some stuff doing, not to mention I need to extend my leasehold on it and a bunch of other adult responsibilities have finally caught up with me - so, as a low paid public sector worker I've officially been priced out. It's a shame - the average age of the crowd seems to middle-aged men with decades of savings to dip into, how new generations of fans will get Season tickets, I don't know.
This is a good point, and heaven knows what the answer is. I can remember paying £1.50 to get in The Dell, when you could just decide on a whim that you were going to the footy that day. Then when I moved to London, I'd sometimes go to Highbury on a Saturday, sometimes White Hart lane, and if I was back in Southampton I'd try to get to The Dell, if we were playing at home. My relationship with football was pretty casual until I morphed into an old git who could - just about - afford to cement a lifetime's relationship with my old hometown club. For my son's generation, all that's been impossible really. When he was a teenager, the only time he went to football was when I took him. So as you say, where are the ST holding regulars of the future going to come from, if they can't afford to get hooked when they're young?
I'm a long way off being comfortable spending that kind of money on recreation. A season ticket is a luxury good.
If the ground is filled with people buying single tickets, the club makes more money. They lose the money up front, but don't lose over all.
Well I'm not sure how you come to that part of your conclusion. I am sure I must hit that age category (feel free to say, "no, FLT, that starts at 50"), but my point is it is very unfair to label people you just don't know as having "decades of savings to dip into." I haven't and I have to make decisions each year o the purchase of my season tickets.
Almost £700 quid... Nah you're alright. I had a season ticket for league one and the championship, but couldn't afford it last year or this year. I still go to loads of games, this season I got to old Trafford, the emirates and selhurst park. But to be honest, live streams are what keep me sorted these days. It's not Southampton FC's fault, it's just the cost of football I'm general for me, whilst also trying to save up to move out is a stretch too far.
You're older than I thought Tom That was a classic year finishing a point clear of relegation. Watching the magic of Le Tissier add highlights to Branfoots awful dross. I only went to 3 games that season. Long haul from Lincoln to Southampton. Didn't go to Newcastle game though. They were in the first division that season.
