CSA96

Figured we may as well get this rolling now we know all the teams and people are starting to make moves...

Won't argue with you on that one

Because 15% is the average across all bands and zones?

£250 last season? That's less than £11 a game. Surely not

Different club, different kit maker... but here's what our fellow red-and-white stripers Stoke have got for the new season

To be fair, I've also only had to do it once, which was actually this season because the berk in front turned the turnstile a second time when I was scanning my ticket.

Ah yeah, makes sense. I did think it would likely be a security angle. Hadn't considered touting actually.

I would respectfully suggest (and may be wrong) that the number of people who can't use a digital ticket will be smaller than the number of people who don't have a printer at home nowadays. Equally, yeah I don't see a reason why you shouldn't be able to print it out at your own effort and expense at home, if preferred. Maybe someone can explain why!

You talk to the steward at the turnstile, same as you do now if the turnstile doesn’t work? And if they can’t rectify it, you get sent to the ticket office, same as now too.

Unless people struggle with the tech or have accessibility issues, genuinely not sure why someone would opt out and opt into a world of postage fees, tickets going missing in the mail, having to remember to bring the season card, having to pay for a new season card when you can't find the season card that you lost. Etc etc.

Can't remember the last time I forgot my phone. Definitely forgotten my ST a few times and had to queue up at the ticket office though

15% increase for me, up from £519 to £599 - pretty happy with that. Can see there have been some hikes of 50%+ in places though, so I'm guessing some may look to re-locate to manage costs.

Key Dates and Digital Tickets Priority on sale window 4th and 5th June 2024 for those affected by stadium improvements. More info and FAQs here. On-sale for all other fans Thursday 6th June 2024 including general sale of all available general admission seats. The deadline to sign up to the 10-month payment plan is Friday 14th June 2024. Digital Season Tickets to launch to fans on Sunday 30th June. The deadline for existing Season Ticket holders to renew the same seat they have now is Monday 1st July 2024. From next season all tickets will be digital, providing a new way to enter St Mary’s. This includes Season Tickets, general admission and hospitality tickets. All physical Season Cards will be discontinued, and at the end of June, fans will receive a 2024/25 digital Season Ticket, for use on your smartphone through a new app. Through the new app, you'll be able to transfer tickets to friends and family with ease, and totally free of charge, if you can't make it to a match. You'll still be able to list your ticket on the Ticket Exchange if you can't come to a game and that game is sold out. We understand this new process may raise questions and some fans may have accessibility reasons for needing a physical ticket. We'll support anyone who needs further assistance and provide an alternative entry method where necessary. Junior fans who may not have a smartphone will be able to store their tickets on their registered Adult’s smartphone within the new app. More detailed information about digital ticketing and how you can access tickets will be provided this summer ahead of the new season.

Areas have been reclassified for next season, so sharing the stadium map first, then renewals second, and new purchases third.

Just went to check the quotes. Definitely spoke highly of him at the time. "Armel just excites you by looking at him because of his sheer size and physicality. When you look at him, he is an imposing guy. When I shook his hand on the first day, I thought he was huge. He possesses unbelievable athleticism and physicality. "If he is here, I will be really excited to work with him because I think he can definitely help us, and we can help him. It's in his own interest, and our own, to get him fit and see what happens then."

No thanks. He's got four or five PL seasons under his belt and delivered very little in any of them.

Good point, I think so. Just checked back and saw that we signed a new three-season deal with them to start in 2021/22, so should be a new name (or renewal).

BBC update on Lallana/Saints talk: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3ggv8kpk3do

https://fullreplays.com/england/championship/leeds-vs-southampton-26-may-2024/ Can watch all of that here in the different segments.

It gets redistributed amongst the Premier League member clubs. Which is why PL clubs will/should have been relatively happy on the financial front, with Saints and Leicester returning immediately.

Minimum uplift of £140m revenue across 3 years (based on getting relegated in Year 1) - and if you survive for three years then it can rise past £300m. https://www.cityam.com/championship-play-off-final-has-the-richest-game-in-football-peaked-in-value/ The actual play-off final prize pot doesn't really give you any more of an advantage over the top two. It just gives you an advantage over the Championship clubs and losing team - promotion is worth £95m more per season than staying in the second tier.

Saints are back in the Premier League - how are you feeling? DS: I feel amazing. I'm so blessed to be part of the Southampton story. Obviously, I don't know that much football, but I'm trying to help with my experience, my knowledge and my energy. I found that with Russell Martin, with the players, with the board and even with all the fans, we can all share this kind of passion. I'm happy for me, but I'm so happy for all of them. It's amazing. This is a special club. Did you think that when you looked at the club at first? DS: Oh, yeah. Well, honestly, when I was offered the opportunity to take care of Saints, I did a lot of research, and everything I learned about Saints was so special. They are completely, I know, I'm a kid born in communist Yugoslavia who made his way into the world, and I love that they are fighting for what they want. They are fighting for their success. They are passionate, but also they are family club with beautiful supporters and I share their passion 100 per cent. Now you're in the Premier League, the thing is that you have to stay there? DS: Honestly, it's a 10-year plan, 10-year project, and we are just at the beginning. I'm glad that we had this sporting success. We'll try to capitalize on it, but we'll continue working on our long-term projects to make Saints a real, stable, forever Premier League club. For that, we need to do a lot with the enlargement of the stadium, with the enlargement of our commercial capacities, with many things we have to do. We are going to play with the biggest boys there are, and we are not afraid to play, but also I want to somehow provide the club the basis to be rightfully there. You know, you can always have a luck with one generation of great players. It can last for three or four years. You can make good money if you let them go somewhere else. But what we want to do is to create a real basis that Saints should rightfully think they're a Premier League club and actually aim for even more. Dragan, is it now so important to spend within your limitations? DS: I think that's super important because that gives some fairness to the whole game of sport and game of football. Obviously, we will look into our abilities. We'll try to spend to the maximum we can, but also we try to spend wisely. We'll try to continue developing young players, but also we also learned one thing. You cannot just have young players and focus on only player development. You need the leaders on the pitch. You need personalities who are able in games like this to find this 110 percent and to win the game. And you need a good owner. How do you describe yourself as an owner? Tonight, I'm a very happy owner, but most of the time, people, it's very funny, people ask me because we had some not so happy moments. Everybody asked me, what do you think now about your investment? And I always say, I really love it. And I can tell anybody, as long as you can afford it, it's a wonderful thing. But unfortunately, you have to be able to afford it. My day business is still going pretty well. So I'll try to help the Saints! But again, I think we have to stay within the smart environment of financial fair play and try to do most with the money that we put in. We don't just throw money in a basically careless way. Dragan, welcome back to the Premier League! DS: Thank you so much. It is so good. I told the guys from Championship, I really enjoyed the season. I think it's a great competition. I love the competition. I had so much fun. But obviously, I'm so happy we are back to Premier League. But I really love the Championship as well. I think it's a bunch of unbelievable clubs and it's always a great weekend.