I'm a little embarrassed at the 6,000 gate for yesterdays memorial. I don't think we can blame the £16 ticket price. I am in the wrong as I am in the North of England with my wife's family celebrating a family occasion, but I was wrong to say yes to this weekend. I should have been at St mary's with my son. Have we left an insult on that great man's memory; have we left Nicola feeling angry and disappointed? Markus Liebherr spent £14m on saving my/our team from going out of existence and only 6,000 turned up to his first memorial event; we should be ashamed. I am Does anyone else feel the same? I'm sorry Markus and Nicola, I should have been there along with thousands of others who didn't put themselves out just a little bit. No excuses, I just didn't put enough thought into it.
I don't. By not showing up yesterday does not in the slightest diminish my affection for what Markus did or his memory. The club is expecting fans to pay out hundreds of pounds right now in a short space of time. For many, including myself, it's just too much to then ask me to pay £32 for two tickets for 45 mins friendlies. The football season starts on the 6th of August. That's what matters for the club. Focus on that.
Agree with this ^ I've just shelled out £90 for two new home shirts. (inc. delivery) I am planning to buy tickets to 3 games, probably at £20 each roughly, and for 2 people that's another £120. So £210 this month into SFC from my household, and I put £23 in for the Liebherr flag. I don't feel sad for it. The club knows Markus is loved by supporters as Cortese says in his video, which yes was shown pre-match. But this was first weekend after schools breaking for summer, so lots will have gone on holiday. Maybe they can learn and will probably look at tweaking the format for next year.
I am proud to say I was there and enjoyed every minute of it all and it was excellent value. For many the format may have put them of as it was over 4 hours of time on a Saturday and ate into both the afternoon and evening. Am I ashamed? Well I was certainly ashamed of those who started booing Alex in the first match. But that is about people's immaturity, it was the response of people who have forgotten about or have never experienced the impressionability and impatience of youth. We witness it on this site regularly when you get people worrying about when tickets sales will start, when the new kit will become available, when will new signings be made and so on. It is called impatience and wanting it now. We oldies have had to live a life of deferred gratification but you youngsters of today want it and have to have it NOW. It is the way little two year olds behave when they suddenly discover they can exert control over their own actions. So if you are at a match and someone boos Alex just tell them that a three old child has a more developed sense of emotional maturity.
The point about the amount of cash flowing from households at this time of year is right. Holidays are coming up and money has to be found for that. It is a delicate financial balancing act for many families and although everyone has the deepest respect for what Markus did for us and remember him with respect and fondness this may have been one expense too much for many families trying to manage their finances in a difficult time for us all.
I agree with the financial strains, I have them too. I've just spent £1200 on three season tickets and £100 on my shirt an my sons kit. All of these I will benefit from. We too have just finished paying for a holiday, but I still think I should have been there. Maybe the club overcharged, maybe not. I believe I should have been there and think 6,000 crowd was bad for a tribute to our saviour.
it was a pretty poor showing in truth. Considering the last game of the season sold out, and people were offering a kidney for a ticket, I would have expected more than 6,000. I went, and sat in the Kingsland just along from a group of Bremen fans (10) who were great fun, and even stayed for the last game saints vs bilbao. I thought it was excellent value - £16 for three 45 min games, and two good quality european teams. The free funfair should have been a real draw for people with kids, especially as there was a paying funfair in the park. Of course money is tight for many people, but its also a question of choices. personally i would prefer to have gone to this game, and forgone the new home shirt, but thats just me. I didn't hear any boos for Alex, but he did look a bit uninspired, and apart form one run into the box, he didn't exactly set the game alight. The first team showed a bit more passion and inventiveness than the team that NA put out against bilbao. I thought kelvins kicking was shocking, but how he kept them out on one occasion beggared belief. Jaidi looked out of sorts as well.
Saints themselves messed up a bit by their pre-season scheduling. If we didn't have the WBA game in mid-week, it probably would have increased the numbers going on Saturday. Really do think Saints have shot themselves in the foot by not selling season tickets as soon as the season finished.
To be fair, a few people may have been on holiday like me. I would've loved to have gone but sadly couldn't make it.
Number of reasons why people may not have gone: -Work -Family matters -Cost -etc... For me it was work
I also was there was very pleased with the day, thought it was excellent, long may it continue, bit of a shame about the gate but at times we didn't half make some noise.
Some people like me find it very difficult to get to games at all. I have to work 6 saturdays out of 7 including yesterday with a 16.14pm finish. I will bet you any money you like that the Saturdays that i get off Saints will be away. Might make some evening games though. Do i feel i let Markus down? No because i would've been there if i could
I thought it was ok. I had the luxury of paying £12 for being a tax-avoiding student. If they do it again next year there will probably be a couple of tweaks.
Reading the Werder Bremen website and they only flew into Soton Airport at 1pm yesterday. Might explain their performance and squad. They flew home straight afterwards too (they have a fan-day at their stadium today). I presume Saints paid them to at least cover their costs? May explain the ticket prices?
I don't think people who didn't go let him down. Think about it, we're in the middle of summer where people are throwing money at holidays and days out and the like, and we're in the middle of a week or two where people are spending loads of money on kits (they've just released two), season tickets etc. A lot of people will think, okay I've spent money on a kit, I've spent money on a season ticket, I donated money to get a flag in his honour, can I really justify another £16 to go to a pre-season friendly with a bizarre format that doesn't apply to me in the slightest? I couldn't justify that personally. I donated to the flag, I paid to have "LIEBHERR 62" printed on my shirt last season, so I feel no guilt about not showing yesterday. My gratitude and respect for the man shouldn't have to be shown in the form of wasting time and money at a football event I don't want to go to.
Am I ashamed that I wasn't there........Bloody hell no........Why should I be? I was there in spirit but not in body. There were many reasons why I couldn't be there. I will not be there for the West Brom Game either!! I also resent being told I should be ashamed because I was not there!!! Nobody could be more passionate about Saints than me. Equally I am grateful to Marcus Leibherr for what he did for the club. I do have a family and promises and commitment to my family take president over any outside goings on. They come first and will always come first. If Marcus were able he would echo those sentiments. So don't tell me I should be ashamed because I did not turn up to a memorial game. I respect Marcus Leibherr as much as anyone that did attend!!!!!
I understand the many reasons why people didn't go but I did feel really bad about the turn out. Markus and Nicola really deserved a sell out.
Beddytare, I said I was ashamed and I think 6,000 was a poor showing for an event that was meant as a first tribute to the man who saved our club. I didn't tell you you should be ashamed, I asked you if you are; you answered and that's fair enough. I still stand by the fact that only 6,000 fans turned up and no matter what the genuine and acceptable reasons for this, I think it's a poor showing. I should have gone and feel bad that I didn't. At no point did i say that you/we don't respect Markus, and yes there are lots of ways that people show their respect, but this was advetised as a tribute to the man and we didn't turn up in number. I didn't tell you that Saints come befoe football, I just raised the point (based on my behaviour and actions) that maybe I should have considered the event more carefully and that MAYBE others were the same. If we take a step back and drop the emotions for just a moment and imagine it was another club. If you read that one year after a club owner had sadly passed away that that club had a memorial match for that owner, and only 6,000 fans turned up, would you not raise an eyebrow? Please don't take personal offense. I just believe that as a collective, on the one day Nicola Cortese asked us to come and pay tribute to Markus, only 6,000 people attended and I sadly wasn't one of them.
Frog Chorus, this is all i was trying to point out. maybe not a sell-out, but Nicola and Markus deserved more than 6,000
