The9

It's too complicated to be bothered with.

I think the point is that there's basically nothing suggesting that we couldn't "have a real go", or bring in "top quality loans" either.

Did they ? People you know then, because it's the first time it's been mentioned on here... and is that really the appropriate response from the club ? "A tiny minority of people have tried to con our badly thought-out system," "Right, let's penalise everyone and make it annoying to get tickets, that certainly won't be cutting off our nose to spite our face...".

It's not nothing, it's 50p. There are 46 matches in the League this season, plus a few Cup games... and its not 50p anyway, it's a couple (or a few) quid minus however you can best minimise it.

I believe that was the other time, actually. I did say "about 20 years ago".

Extremely fantastic given that only 2 promoted third tier sides have gone straight up automatically in the past 20 years and the other was about 20 years ago...

ORLY, well to me for missing the point then. As I mentioned last week, I don't view the Forums with avatars so I have no idea what it looks like with them. In that case, what is the point ? That Barton's available on a free ? And ? I don't even know what the OP is attempting to imply, to be honest, nor why... oh, whatever.

You did indeed get off lightly. As I did, getting all the STs posted to a mate, with mine luckily not lacking any tickets, and finding a convenient person with a blue badge so we could park on the double yellows right outside in a particularly effective fingers up to the stupid car parking policy when we went to pay. I also stuck it on a 0% interest credit card to bypass their efforts at an instalment plan. By the time we'd left (28 minutes later) there were 8 others risking the double yellows to avoid the fees too. Not everyone was as lucky, or got anything resembling decent service, which was kind of the point. In fact even in your case the visit to the club to hand over the money was utterly unnecessary and could have been done online perfectly easily at negligible cost to either party. I did also forget to mention the scores of people who weren't told by the TO when they were able to collect the STs and duly made extra journeys to the club on the off-chance they were ready only to be told they'd have to come back again. Again, completely avoidable and purely an inconvenience put in place by the club for no obvious reason.

FWIW I think around 25k is about to be expected. Though the throng attending the South City Si Wedding of The Year at lunchtime is surely going to have some impact on the attendance, I think maybe a few hundred will be pitching up at the evening do instead of the match... it's a logistical nightmare for me to fit two "dress smart" occasions around an early evening match and a trip to the New Forest for a start.

Especially when they simultaneously hand out duplicate ST vouchers willy-nilly, which is as inefficient and costly as it is potentially dangerous. I've been waiting ages to use that phrase.

The words "Location : The delightful, green, rolling hills of North Hampshire" from Joey Barton's twitter, apparently.

Yeah, I know, I have assumed that the queues will be shorter for that journey than the parking escapades of the previous two visits in peak ST time. I've actually taken to shuttling between car parks on a 15 minute basis when I go there now. And not buying as many Saints products because I refuse to pay the surcharges and no longer stay in the shop for long enough to consider whether I'm going to buy daft Saints things I probably shouldn't. I just don't.

This post was a load of ar5e, but you can see it quoted below if you wish...

The point is that it was avoidable for the previous 10 years at St Mary's because the club had the balance of cost and customer service just about right. Every match now is a pointless hassle - even getting a season ticket for most people involved a trip to the TO, paying to park, queuing, paying for the ST, leaving without it, getting no notification from the club that it was available, finding out for themselves, traipsing back down there to pay to park, queue and collect it. Then for some people the charade of checking it, discovering they didn't have matches 1-8, and as advised by the club initially, traipsing BACK to the TO to collect a new/replacement one and handing back over the other one, or not, depending on what mood the TO staff were in that day. Absolutely pathetic service. I don't agree with dune often, but he's right that they are pushing their luck as far as goodwill goes.

Clearly on his way to Aldershot as understudy to Poolis.

Pfff, and sit in the idiot queues for people who buy tickets before and after match days ? No thanks. As for "get an ST", I've got one - though if I want to go to away matches I STILL have to pitch up to the ground or pay some random tax, and there's been a noticeable increase in away ticket sales starting on Mondays, just too late to pick them up at a weekend home game even if I wanted to. Gone are the days of logging in online and just clicking a few buttons, using the card and getting the thing through the post like practically every other purchase I've made in the last 10 years, because we just don't DO customer service at Saints any more.

You didn't notice Stephen Crainey just play the ENTIRE SEASON at left back for Blackpool in the Premier League - I'd have thought the constant references to Puncheon, Beattie and Ormerod playing for them as well might have given it away at least a little bit ? Delgado won the Mexican title with UNAM Pumas, then played in Quito where they got to the QF of the Copa Libertadores, before some matey booted him in the infamous injured knee, sparking a massive brawl on the last day of the season when loads of players got banned for up to a year. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e044a724b7 Delgado got banned for 6 months and LDU Quito then WON the Copa Libertadores while he was still there in 2008. He's 37 now though, retired earlier this year. Chala bounced around various clubs in Quito and played in Peru for a bit.

If you live close enough that you're not paying petrol tax...

I am delighted for Newport County that this is the case, hopefully they'll now pass him on the way down. Ironic that after my Pulis-dad's a Newport lad-based paranoia, he signs for Newport's last manager's new team. Poorer Aldershot I'd say...

De Ridder by an absolute mile. Exciting, tricky, fan-pleasing attacking play guarantees he'll be up there on any supporters' list. Much as I rate Cork, I think a lot of what he does will go unnoticed. Probably for the best in his short-shorts.

How's about a posting using last season's table with some uppy-downy arrows and the new clubs slotted in ?

I'm assuming Leicester will need about 3-4 months to gel (like Saints do!), unless their 11 randomers turn out to be significantly ahead of everyone else in the league even playing a predictable 4-4-2. Look at us last season, best players, best squad, lost to Rochdale home and away, as much to do with the timing of the matches as anything.

Hm, not sure that applies in high profile celeb cases, they will want to be seen to be doing something due to the widespread media interest.

You do seem rather massively out of line with the views of the majority, not for the first time... Literally every other person except one has gone for upper mid-table outside the play-offs. EDIT : Apart from the post that arrived at the same time as me, and he's even more optimistic. ANOTHER EDIT : Just for the hell of it, and since I keep asking, can someone find and link or bump last season's thread on this subject ?

I'm a 3. too, upper mid-table to playoff contenders.