Just read this article on The Ugly Inside website and wondered what people's thoughts were: Two years ago to the very week, Saints hosted Ajax in what was then the Ted Bates trophy, around 25,000 turned out to welcome the clubs new owner and saviour Markus Liebherr and gace him a rousing reception. Make no mistake many turned out for Markus, usually the Ted Bates Trophy would attract about 15,000 for its pre season annual fixture. Turn the clocks forward 24 months and the Markus Liebherr memorial match and less than 10,000 Saints fans came to pay their respects. This is not a political statement aimed at the new regime, to be blunt they had lined up an interesting day, it was reasonably priced against decent opposition and with the unveiling of the new kits too boot, they had also made it quite clear that this was an occasion to honour Markus for saving the club. No this is a question aimed at Saints supporters and asking why so many could not be bothered too turn out and show their appreciation, after a suucesful season and given the tragic death of Markus a year ago I would have expected a crowd of at least double to be in attendance, forget the problems of car parking and price increases etc, whatever a Saints supporters thoughts on them surely it was a day to put things aside and pay their respects. Im sure their will be some who will tell me how wrong I am to have expected a bigger crowd and will point out a plethora of excuses, but two years ago the circumstances were exactly the same, yet we all turned out in droves, why did we not do that this weekend ? Of course i have my issues with the football club, as many will know, but it is still my football club and i have no problem to raising a glass in honour of Markus, im just saddened that so many chose not to join me ! The problem is that when you build up an event as was done on Saturday and make it quite clear what the aim of the day is for, it can leave a little sour taste when there was so many empty seats, if Markus's family where there on Saturday they must surely be disapointed that so many Saints fans have appeared ot have snubbed the game, it must put doubt into their minds about whether they should put more money into the club, after all so many Saints supporters seemed to have short memories when it came to why they should buy tickets for the game, they must question why they should bother putting their money into a foreign football club a long way from their home, when the supporters of that club seem unwilling to spend their own money to honour Markus.
Same old **** stirring Illingsworth. He doesn't believe half of the things he writes, he just likes writing & saying stuff to provoke a reaction and get hits to his website (which in turn, earns him dough). He should really work for the Echo (that's not a compliment)
Whilst I admit to only skim reading the article (some of it is rather cringeworthy) I actually agree with the point he is making; he is disappointed with the turnout. I wholeheartedly agree. My heart sank when I walked out of the kingsland to see an empty stand. I was gutted. I thoroughly enjoyed my day and would like to thank the club for all the effort put in. It is just a shame more people couldn't make it. Ps - the flag looked great!
He has a point but it is OTT. Pretty much everything he says/writes is a load of rubbish and personally I can't stand the bloke.
Lets get something very clear, I wasn't there! I didn't snub the game. I didn't snub Marcus or his family. There are many reasons for my family's non appearance. None of them have anything to do with Snubbing anyone. Normally me and my family would have been down at St Mary's no matter what the reason if Saints were playing. There was plenty like me that had there reasons for not being there too!! Since when has it been compulsory to attend a football match to show respect to an owner or his family. The author of the original statement clearly does not understand family priorities, commitments and promises. He clearly does not take into account that people have other interests outside of football and that football is not necessarily their first priority. That does not mean that they do not support Saints, or that they are not grateful for what Marcus or his family have done. I have supported Saints through thick and thin longer than most and will not accept any criticism should it be that I am unable to attend a game of football for whatever reason. My loyalty to Southampton and the club leadership is demonstrated every-time I and my family attend a game not just for one game. We do not, nor should not, need to make excuses for not being there, as disappointed we may be for not being able to come. No matter how important the match!!
It would be a bigger problem if we were getting these sort of attendances for league games. Let's have an interesting fact, shall we? Our average attendance last season was 21,726. Our lowest was 17,857. The average attendance in the Championship was 17,388 last season. Need I say more?
im gonna back up beddy and say there are many reasons ppl may not have attended - one of mine is the fact that i promised i would spend more time with the missus until the new season, as its the 'only time of the year i see you on a saturday' therefore friendlies are out!
Cutting all the political crap from it, my point at the weekend on my post was disappointment in the number. Don't need the lambasting again, but I felt it was a shame that the crowd wasn't bigger. No digs, no stirring, just a statement.
fatletiss............I do not believe that any one was Lambasting you...........You have an opinion and have every right to air it. I am of the opinion that most of the above comments were aimed at the author of the original piece which was transferred to our web page above. It is almost a duplication of your original post it is true, with perhaps a bit more of a political undertone. I guess as far as I am concerned it has hit a bit of a raw nerve. While I agree the attendance was disappointing I just find it difficult to criticise people for non attendance, especially as I wasn't there myself.
He may be an idiot but even idiots can have an opinion. I too was surprised by the low attendance. Let's hope the attendances are not an issue once the season kicks off.
Personally, I think that the main reason for the lower than expected attendance was the format. Don't get me wrong, the idea of a mini-tournament is great, and I think the pricing was fine, but the timing and duration was unusual. Let's not forget that, no matter how devoted fans are, we still have to fit in other things around it. Traditionally we're all used to our 3pm saturday kick-offs (admittedly some are later from time to time) which slots in nicely to the Saturday routine. When you move kick-offs to 4pm, and then also stretch out the whole thing longer than a normal 90 minute match, that's the whole evening gone, tea time / family dinner / evening boozing etc etc. My view is that if we had simply had a single big team, kick off 3pm, we would have had a bigger turnout. Also, I think the Ajax game as a comparison is a bit of a red herring - to me the 15k turnout for that game was as a result of the tension that had built up over the summer as to whether or not we would actually exist. A big sigh of relief and a show of support. This year, and last season we've already showed our great support and the focus should now be on attendances in the league. Which I think will be naturally even better than last season. Anyway, 10,000 still isn't bad for a pre-season friendly.
Just how many would be expected to attend these types of games? As has been said, it sounds very much like a rant aimed at getting attention.
I myself was at a wedding but I am sure many choose to go on holiday (and get married) at this time of year simply so that they don't miss the new season when it starts in 12 days. At least with the new flag we can commemorate and remember Markus every time we play at home, not just at a pre season tournament!
NI really is a tool. Attention seeking muppet. I didn't go. I've never been to a pre-season friendly in all the years I've supported Saints. I didn't snub Markus, I just didn't go. There is a difference.
Exactly. IT ISNT!!! wonder what stats there are from friendlies around the country and other NPC teams eh??? although i know pimpey got decent attendance vs chelsea. but this was not too shabby at all. at the end of the day friendlies are'nt competitive and to have an attendance on par with say - the JPT opening rounds we had last 2 years is actually quite good given they were competitive.
