SAINTS CROWDS DROP THE MOST????

SAINTS have seen their attendances drop by more than any club in England’s top three professional divisions this season.

Crowds at St Mary’s have decreased by 26 per cent from the last campaign.

In contrast, the average decline at a Championship club is just under ONE per cent.

Only League Two side Morecambe have seen numbers through their gates plummet more, with a fall of 27 per cent on 2007/08.


(TAKEN FROM THE ECHO)

Michael Wilde doesn't seem to be at all concerned though by it as he reckons we are now on a sounder footing. Our cost cutting has prepared us for the credit crunch. As long as we meet the targets. What exactly are the targets?

SFC Forever wrote: What exactly are the targets?

Some people would say Lowe and Wilde.... ;)

SaintMike wrote:

SFC Forever wrote: What exactly are the targets?

Some people would say Lowe and Wilde.... ;)

MOST WOULD SAY BETWEEN THE GOAL POSTS

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/sai...aints_saviour
Check this to see what he said. Also has a link to the Echo main story.

Pinched from another site:

Can Saints survive current financial crisis? By Del Killjoy
Posted on Thursday 16 Oct 2008 08:13:00

Attendances at St Mary’s are down 26% and if this trend continues then Southampton FC are set to lose £2million in revenue as a result. But hang on, who’s to say we’ll even maintain things at this level? The record for LOWEst attendance has already been broken four times this season. And I’d be prepared to bet it gets beaten again. And maybe again.

So can Saints survive the current financial crisis at the club, particularly as it’s being compounded by the global situation and the impact of this upon the fans? Well, Michael Wilde seems to think so.

“There’s a whole range of things that are having wide ranging effects on professional football clubs,” he told the Daily Echo.

The credit crunch has so far affected the average Championship club by less than 1% in terms of attendances and their knock-on effect on matchday sales. Morecambe are the only club in the football league to have been harder hit that Saints in this respect. However, other factors, such as the ability to secure loans and repaying existing debts, are causing difficulties for many clubs at every level. Nevertheless, Wilde remains confident that Southampton are well placed to deal with these problems.

“Without the cost cutting we’ve introduced over the last three or four months we would have had little chance of weathering the storm. We are now moving towards a semblance of sensibility but it would be foolish to think the company isn’t under pressure in the same way even the best run businesses around are. We have to perform and hit our targets and as long as we do that we’re in good shape.”

I’m afraid to say with confidence that anyone reading this article will know of at least one person who is under significant pressure at this time, if you aren’t yourself. Therefore, it’s clear to us all that times are tough and will inevitably get tougher. But we all know what we can manage on and what we cannot. And this also applies to our beloved football club.

It’s pleasing to know that “as long as” Saints hit their targets then they’ll be “in good shape”. However, I’m concerned about how optimistic these targets were when they were set before the credit crisis. Three or four months ago we, the fans, were worried about how Saints would survive. Now, that situation is far worse. There’s never a good time for a recession, but this is certainly an especially bad one for our football club.

Wilde is trying to comfort us, but at the same time it is not a good sign when the head of a business goes public with talk of financial “pressure”.

So, can Saints survive the current financial crisis? I’d love to believe so, but I can’t be sure. What about you?

the crowd was up a couple of thousend for watford. i hope saints get a good result at swansea then we might get resonable crowds next week.

We need a good result but we also need a Killer play alike

If we start winning regularly will the improved gates then make us the best supported instead?

By accident I came across this thread on a Norwich Forum...

http://www.pinkun.com/cs/forums/1413686/ShowPost.aspx

Isn't it nice to be so popular that everyone feels the need to talk about us.

SFC Forever wrote:Isn't it nice to be so popular that everyone feels the need to talk about us.

Didn't they know they could come here and talk direct to us??

Looks as though their thread has been closed otherwise I would have told them that! 8)

What do you think of this that I have stolen from another site....


Saints choose cheaper ticket option to bring supporters back By Benny Younglove
Posted on Thursday 06 Nov 2008 08:37:00


Having previously ruled out a ticket price reduction, on the grounds that it would diminish the benefits of the financially essential season ticket, Southampton FC have decided to introduce a new scheme, designed to offer the best alternative. But will it be enough?

The “ongoing Pro Rata ticket”, as it’s referred to on the club’s official site, “is a Season Ticket based on the original Early Bird discount price, with the games that have been played so far taken off the price.”

It’s unlikely that this will attract masses of fans back to the club, or that it will even guarantee a much greater level of support. However, it is at least a step in the right direction for supporters.

Thousands of Saints fans are currently avoiding St Mary’s, for a whole variety of reasons, among them the belief that prices are too high for the level and quality of football on offer. It is therefore the belief of many that ticket prices should be reduced, especially at this financially difficult time for punters. However, the club have previously commented that this would do long-term damage to future season ticket sales, as they would cease to become a guarantee of discount and would therefore lose value.

Head Coach Jan Poortvliet has recently spoken out about his disappointment with Saints’ home form, which is clearly correlative with low attendances. Anything the club can therefore do to get fans back in the ground has to be a bonus, though we are going to need to do much more to reverse this situation.

Any bright ideas?

Ticket price is an issue, but they expect fans to show complete and absolute loyalty, whereas players will simply bugger off at the slightest hint of a bigger wage. Considering (IMO) £1K a week is a ridiculously high wage for a numpty playing a game for a living, I'm sick to death of financing it. To be honest (I'm really sorry for saying this), I will feel a deep sense of perverse joy if the game collapsed under the extreme weight of greedy wages. A lesson needs to be learned!

Off the soap box...

A lot of sense there Bloop....

It would be a relief to see the game more evenly balanced.

Hardly surprising when you consider how exclusive and opaque has become the management of this Club despite the previous history of conflict and antagonism towards the present incumbents of the boardroom from fans, that arose solely from poor communication and a lack of respect from the boardroom.

It is a matter of huge and depressing regret that WE ordinary fans still do not matter at all except as a source of revenue, to the Private School Clique who forced their way back into the boardroom earlier this year via their dubious networks. Still no attempt is made for inclusivity, whilst the view of fans continue to be ignored or constantly denigrated as the 'ravings of a lunatic fringe'. No attmpt is made to communicate anything to fans that might at least help them feel p[art of the business and so remain committed to the cause and stay loyal at this time of very great need.

Unfortunately, relations appear to be worsening rather than improving as the Board have now created the impression of operating not just behind closed doors but locked doors and steadfastly refuse to entertain the idea that fans are stake-holders in this enterprise.

So there's the simple truth. Fans feel they don't matter so Fans walk away. I mean, wouldn't you? It's life after all and plenty of divorces testify to the fact that any one of us can only take so much.

Wilde and Lowe and their cohorts may think they know everything about finance but axiomatically they know little about business other than the balance sheet and nothing at all about people.

Football is above all a game of the PEOPLE played by the People for the People. Disenfranchise the people at your peril Mr Lowe.

But don't hold your breath for an early change... Toon fans cannot rid themselves of Ashley so what model is there to follow to oust Lowe? At least Ashley has the good grace not to show his face around the place, is it too much to ask that Lowe and Wilde stay away from SMS

Thanks for that Charlie, haven't seen you here for a while....and then you post a brilliantly thought out message like that. It will be put on the list for consideration as Post of the Month.

Charlie is back. Only wish his namesake could perform a major miracle and help us out.

17812....not a lot for the league leaders!!

Just goes to show how disenfranchised our fans are becoming. Does this board think that even us getting relegated is okay? They seem to be making it very hard for us the fans to get behind them. Smaller gates can only lead to one thing. More quicky sales to keep the ground's mortgage up to date.
Correct me if I am wrong but no finance will lead to only one thing, administration. I am beginning to feel that Lowe and his ilk do not trust us the supporting public. Why else would they refuse point blank to give us the full story about our financial plight. It is surely much better to face the problems together than sit idly waiting for the inevitable. Sure we could get another 2/3000 bums on seats with improved contact but would that be enough?
The club needs to tell us exactly what the present situation is. How much we owe and how much we are paying each week to keep the wolves at bay. How much money would be needed to clear our debts once and for all? Or how much would be needed to make our position bearable for the foreseeable future? Nobody is going to subsidise a ship with no future. If we are going anywhere we need to know. People will help if given the chance.
I am beginning to feel that our help is unwanted. That our support is not wanted. That we are an encumbrance that they don't want. Like Charlie I fear for the future. The low level of information is more damning than the worst that they can throw at us. If we are doomed for administration and/or relegation let us know. If we are in need of a major monetary lift then tell us.
We are the club Mr Lowe not you. If we stop supporting the club it will die. You never know but complete frankness could even now show to someone that there is a way out of our position. Increased revenue is not likely to help much unless the gate increases to levels around the 20,000 mark. Small sums will never clear a debt and leave the club in a position to improve playing standards.
WE NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH AND NO FOBBING OFF OF THE PROBLEMS WILL HELP. IF WE ARE GOING TO DROWN WE SHOULD BE DOING IT TOGETHER. TELL US THE TRUTH!!!

Added to the list as a possible for P.O.T.M......

Noone got no mony

Me tink dat right init