Mltburger

Sorry to be mercenary but I now want my refund for my Wembley tickets. What will add salt to the wound if the club and Wembley trouser the £2.50 booking fee. The last time Saint's had to rearrange a game due to TV, you didn't get a refund on the booking fee. Given none of this the fault of the fans, any claim that £90,000 (35,000 x 2.50) is needed to administer the issuing of tickets and refunds will be the final straw of many final straws!!

Saints broke the rules. Debating whether it had any effect on the results is immaterial. The EFL has created a problem for themselves by introducing a rule without defining what the punishment is for breaking the rule!!!! If you get caught for speeding you know you will get points on your licence. All rules have a defined punishment. When the EFL created the rule, they should have defined the punishment. The question now is what is appropriate. You can't chuck Saints out of the final if the next club caught cheating is not in a play off!!!! The EFL has to define a punishment that is consistent and fitting no matter what the position of the club breaking the rule. Not excusing what Saint's have done, but the EFL have created a problem for themselves that could and should have been clearly defined the moment they created the rule. We will never know if Saints are chucked out of the final but the potential loss of £100 million Premiership money could be argued by Saint's to be out of proportion to the crime and tie up the EFL with legal arguments. I know Saints have not got the financial clout of Man City but given the money at stake, Saints would be mad to just accept the punishment no matter what that may be.

IRegarding linking Friends and Family being greyed out, I think I now know where the problem is. I have always bought tickets for my friends and family and have logged their tickets to their supporter number. I suspect they didn't bother updating their details when the App was first introduced as requested. Consequently when they purchased Membership, Saints issued them a new supporter number. So their purchase history is logged against their original supporter number which I was using. So when I went to buy tickets in the "members with purchase history" window they were greyed out as Saints database thinks they have not bought a ticket this season.

Anyone had any problems linking Friends and family who should be eligible but we're greyed out?

As of 19.24 today blocks 538 - 527 in level 5 have either sold out or have yet to be released. There are seats available from rows 13 to 39 in blocks 552 - 539 in level 5. Pretty much all the standing is available from 547 - 539 A quarter of the stadium (538 - 527) and not a single ticket free in these blocks looks more like they haven't been released - unless a season ticket holder on this website can say they have a ticket in these blocks? It will be annoying if those who have to wait until general sale end up having better seats available if they release more (assuming I am right the others have not been released)!! I would like to post a screenshot which better illustrates the point but this site doesn't allow uploading of images, seems you have to upload to a hosting website then get a URL which is too much of a faff!!

I notice the Southampton website has some contradictory information regarding buying tickets for the semi final. I am sure there are many fans, who know season ticker holders/members with match history who don't intend to go to the semi final and hope to use their numbers to purchase tickets so groups can all sit together rather than having to wait until general sale. BUT can you purchase the ticket using a friends season/membership number - then transfer the ticket? When it was a paper ticket it was easy, but not now it is all via the Saints App!! The website says= Tickets are sold 1 per qualifying Supporter Number and must be purchased for the named attendee, with no name changes after sale. Tickets can be transferred to others though should not be sold. So which is it?

Over the last 5 seasons both Stephens and Bednarek are the two who have had a consistent presence in defence. They may not have played every game and cannot be entirely held solely responsible for goals conceded, but equally they have to shoulder some of the blame. 20/21 conceded 68 - 2nd worse in league 21/22 conceded 67 - 3rd worse in league 23/23 conceded 73 - 2nd worse in league 23/24 conceded 63 - 10th worse 24/25 conceded 86 say no more This is not personal, it matters not a jot whether a player is a good chap, is passionate, kisses the badge at every opportunity - the stats suggest that the defence needs improving and these two are part of the problem, not the solution. I hand hoped we may have turned a corner with the appointment of Spors. Giving Stephens a 3 year contract makes no sense, no more than when we gave Russel Martin an extension. With Martin we should have agreed to review his contract around Christmas/New year depending on results. As with Stephens, it was not like there was a queue of clubs desperate for his signature. I hope to be proved wrong but this decision makes me wonder if those in charge will prove to be as inept at recruiting players as the previous incumbents we had over the last 10 years.

Let's hope he does for Reform what he did for Saints. Get them relegated competing at local elections and then they go bankrupt and into administration.

Whatever money he is on, (and I really hope it isn't a lot) I still think that money could be put to better use. Given he never lasted 90 minutes at Brighton, and his injury record, his ability to make a real difference on the pitch is going to be limited. The chatter surrounding Walcott joining was similar - his influence in the dressing room was as much value as his playing ability. What Saints need is quality ON the pitch. If you want influence in the changing room- isn't that what the manager and coaching staff are for! Vincent Kompany had more medals and experience on and off the pitch than Lallana but his influence in the dressing room couldn't keep Burnley up. It proves that no matter how good a manger you maybe if you don't have the quality ON the pitch your going straight back down. So I am judging Lallana on what he does on the pitch and I think our money could be better spent. We already have too many players at Saints who were only considered good enough to be subs in the Championship. We need to be buying players who will be in the starting 11, not warming the subs bench. We should not be repeating the mistakes of the past when we bought players who were no better than the ones we already had.

6 out 10 Low score that could rise to 8 when a few unknowns prove their worth. Perhaps we were spoilt when we were last promoted, but l am judging the squad on who is going to be good enough to remain should we get promoted. I know am settling a high bar, but the clubs that manage to hold on in the Premiership are the ones who didn't need to make 8/9 new singings on promotion. So to get an 8, Holgate and Hardwood Belli's need to be an upgrade on Stephens and Bednarek who we know are not premier level. Manning is nothing special but ok for this level. Laris, who knows if he is any good! Not convinced Baz is good enough. So in defence Walker Peters is the only bit of known quality. Midfield looks good. Charles and Downes could be Prem level, and time will tell if Smallbone can also be good enough. Alcaraz has real potential to be a star in the making with the right coaching. Upfront Adams and Armstrong are ok at this level but have been proven to be not Prem level. Not convinced Mara will come good. Stewart is unknown, but you don't get to 27 and no big clubs have shown an interest means he may be ok for this level but is nothing special. Same feeling I had when we took a punt on tall Paul, you don't get to 28 and managed to slip under the radar. The difference between promotion and mid table will depend on our wingers scoring goals. Fraser looks to be good, but still sitting on the fence with Edozie and Kamaldeen. If the latter two along with the emerging SAA come good then 6 out of 10 could be an 8/9 but there too many unknowns at the moment to confidently say we have had a good transfer window. I am not getting carried away until we see how we are come start of November.

Selling good players and replacing them with players that are not as good has been a problem over the last 4/5 years. Quality has dipped year on year, to the point that our own perspective of what is a good or bad player has plummeted with it. Yoshida exemplifies it perfectly, fans ranted and feared the worst whenever he had to stand in for Van Dyke or Fonte, fast forward a year and fans were hoping he got picked as the alternatives were even worse! Now we are debating the merits of Jack Stephens for the Championship when a few years previously he was 4th choice and only worth risking for a cup game against lower opposition. Poor recruitment is not just confined to Sports Republic either, Danny Ings aside, we have not bought a single player since Van Dyke who we have manged to sale for more than we paid!! So much for the buy cheap and sale high model, the majority of the players bought, we couldn't even give away (Lemina, Boufal, Hoedt, Clasie, Martina,Pied,Carrillo,Gardos,Valery,Gunn). The current crop of recruits may buck the trend, but previous poor recruitment has not been down to one owner or manager. Saints need a top to bottom review of the entire scouting network as our recruitment has been shocking. A club of our size and resources simply cannot afford to make so many mistakes in recruitment. Mistakes that have finally caught up with us.

The best statement of fans discontent for this diabolical season is for everyone to leave the stadium on 85 minutes for the final game. Parading to a stadium with no Saints fans is a more powerful statement than just booing. Embarrassing for you the club and players and might just give them a taste of the embarrassment fans have had to endure for pretty much the entire season.

Has any club appointed 4 managers in a season?

I bought 5 tickets for Lincoln game, but when it was rearranged, one of us couldn't make it, but I only got a refund of £15, not £16.50 I paid!! It wasn't Saints fualt the move, but it certainly was not mine, and it really annoys me that I am out of pocket through no fault of mine. Bought concert tickets through Ticketmaster before and even they give a full refund including the booking fee. Given Saints current form, they need paying customers more than I need to watch the rubbish they are currently serving up. Cheese your customers off at you peril.

All our managers since Puel in 2016/2017 have all come under fire. And I have some sympathy (some less than others) with them because they have at their disposal a declining standard of player. In 7 years the only 2 players we have sold for more than we paid are Van Dyke & Ings. 7 years = 2 players. Our recent recruits MAY buck that trend, but when you consider most of the players we have bought have been worse than the ones they have replaced you can see why we are in or around the relegation zone. Some of the players we bought, we couldn't even give away! And this is going to be the same problem should Ralph be replaced. On Sunday, many talked how Moyes was able to change the game with some tactical subs. But was it a smart tactical change, or was it West Ham just had better players to come off the bench? Our starting 11 does not fill me with much hope, let alone what we have from the bench. Many got excited at the start of the season because we signed some players from Man City, but they were young, and if they were that promising, they would not have been sold in the first place. We have paid a heavy price over the last 6- 7 years of a policy to buy young talent. I understand the rationale that as a small club we can't buy big, but there has to be a balance, blending promising youngsters with some experience. Unfortunately it is a gamble hoping to spot potential and we have paid the price of making so many wrong choices. Our lack of attacking options has existed since we sold Mane and Pelle, other than 1 season of Ings, every manger has had a very limited choice of attacking options from which to chose. Even when Lavia and Tino return, we may be a little more competitive, but they are not going to chip in many goals. Come January we are in a bit of a vicious circle, because we need a goal scorer (as do many at our level) but if you were a decent striker and you have many offers, why chose a club in relegation! Which is why I am rather indifferent whether Ralph stays or goes, mainly because like every manager since Puel, none of them have managed to improve the players (other than Ralphs brief early spell) simply because they are all rather average (as is evidenced by only 2 players sold at a profit).