trousers

Perhaps this is the one....? http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/fb_news.php?storyid=7796 "Supporters Charter Out Of The Window ! Wed 09th Jun 2010 10:09 Last year Saints sent us a lovely booklet entitled the Supporters Charter in which Nicola Cortese made a lovely statement and laid down the Club's commitment to us the fans, indeed the headline on the top of the Chairman's speech was "Our Commitment To Meeting Your Expectations" In his opening statement the Chairman made it clear that "This supporters Charter will be the embodiment of what we stand for and it will target what we deliver year in year out" so it definately wasnt intended as a one season wonder. The first section is Ticketing and there the Club states that "In a continuing effort to strive for wider access to matches, the club will offer: * A payment plan for season tickets to make them cost effective This charter was widely praised by the Football Authorities and Saints supporters felt that in this Charter, they had a blueprint for the future and honourable men committed to delivering it. In the red target box on the side of each page, where the Club sets out its targets in order to be able to measure its progress in delivering the Supporters Charter, it says "Via our supporter engagement policy, we will seek feedback on ticket prices for forthcoming seasons in an attempt to ensure maximum supporter buy in" Having had contact with the club over the past months representing the Saints Trust, at no time has ticket pricing ever been mentioned, if it had and this had been suggested you can be assured that we would have told the Club the folly of such a move. So perhaps the reason why there has been so much outcry in the past week is not just because of the removal of the re payment plan, but by the way this announcement has been delivered, its been a little bit like dumping your girlfriend by text, the announcement was put up on the Clubs official website late on a bank holiday Monday evening, and in the nine days since then there hasnt been one comment from the club. To coin a phrase, when there is a storm the Captain of the ship should be on the bridge and in charge, but where is Nicola Cortese ? it seems at the first sign of trouble he has disapeared. Up till a week or so ago, Nicola Cortese was one of the most popular men in this City, Saints supporters revered him for the way he had overseen the revamp of the club, now they feel nothing but bewilderment and the longer he stays silent that will soon change to contempt for the way he has treated them, Cortese has often said he considers this Club to be his family, that being the case he seems to have different family values than the rest of us. Perhaps just as important though is the lack of season ticket renewals in the post, supporters expect these, although with the outcry in the Daily Echo over the past week I would imagine that many season ticket holders do know the situation, there are still those that dont have the internet or are not in the Echo's catchement area and they could be blissfully unaware and waiting to renew. One gripe was about the short timescale, as i write this article it is nearly 9th June, almost a third of the renewal time has gone and yet from the club a deafening silence. There is still time for the Club and Nicola Cortese to turn things round, to come out and introduce a payment plan or even extend the time supporters have to renew to the start of August to give them more time to raise the cash. Cynics would say that Cortese is trying to maximise price per ticket, he is relying on the team doing well and that being the case the fans flocking through the gates, could his thinking be that he would prefer to have as many supporters paying £24 a ticket plus booking fees etc than £17 with a season ticket, I sincerely hope not ! The supporters now want to see Cortese lead from the front, come out and tell us the reasoning behind the thinking, not hide behind a wall of silence, to do so would suggest that our Chairman has a contempt for the supporters of this Club that matches the way previous Chairmen have treated us and in fact in some ways exceeds it. We had hoped that in the 21st Century football was heading in a better direction than in the past, a direction where supporters are treated like adults and consulted, instead of being treated like dirt, this week has revealed that a lot has changed in the past 11 months, put perhaps not as much as we first thought !."

"At this moment in time I do not know why the club chose this course of action, they initially accepted by season ticket payment only to refund it without any reason or notification, I can only assume that it was because of a statement issued in early June by The Saints Trust asking the club to re consider its stance over the season ticket repayment plan and asking for a meeting with Nicola Cortese regarding this matter." Does anyone have a copy of this statement? Perhaps there's some clues in there as to why Cortese has taken the stance he is taking? There again, perhaps there isn't.

http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/fb_news.php?storyid=11227&title=the_ifo_report

Yes, there's a few of us that have stopped for several moments to ponder on this. Me, you, Phil and a few others, and as a result we're reserving judgement on the whole debacle. To me, that's the only sensible view to be holding at the moment as no-one (on here) has the full facts.

Because they were buying an entertainment package, not just "a few beers in a pub"? Just a hunch

Any chance of a more regular page count update? Say, every 2 or 3 pages? Cheers ;-)

Is the more pertinent question: "Does NI himself want the Saints Trust to continue or does he too feel that it's run it's natural course?"

Has anyone got a link to the season ticket terms and conditions of use? Cheers

Yes, that has crossed my mind. But, if it's as simple as that (to coin a phrase) then why have the club apparently not told him (in private) what the breach was?

Good luck with your reasonable request to get a reason for not getting a reason...

Thought provoking post IMHO

Nothing. I adore the current Mrs Trousers 365 days a year, not one day a year when Interflora and Hallmark Cards tell me I should. FFS

I tend to avoid 'illegal' sites but my conscience is clear as far as terrestrial BBC programmes is concerned as it's free to air as there was nothing stopping me recording the show if I'd been in at the time. Cheers for the 'keep in view's

officialsaints: Saints match at Plymouth on 26th March has been brought forward for a 12.30pm kick off. Full details here -> http://bit.ly/gmATls #saintsfc

Lol

Dropping like flies. I watched the post-match interview with Andy Scott after their 4-1 drubbing at Daggers and he did seem like a broken man.

bbc_matt Matt Slater #pafc fans, who do u believe, Synan or Ridsdale http://bit.ly/hkLOBl? It gets uglier & more serious by the day #footballfinance CLUB STATEMENT Posted on: Thu 03 Feb 2011 THE Plymouth Argyle Board of Directors today released the following statement: "An article in today's newspaper, The Herald, in Plymouth, may lead to the impression that funds are about to be received from our Japanese shareholders that 'are sufficient', implying that the problems created by the identified cash shortfall that currently exists at Plymouth Argyle Football Club will be resolved. "At the time of writing, no new cash has been received from Japan, nor have we had any confirmation that there is likely to be any imminent investment from the Far East which would be of a level previously indicated to us or indeed to the Court. "We are disappointed that any statement may have been made in the public domain that could either intentionally or otherwise been misleading to our creditors or supporters which regard to the real challenge that still faces this club, if we are to secure the funding level that we require. "Everyone at the club is working tirelessly to ensure that a solution can be found but as yet, the task is far from complete." Reminds me of the sort of announcements we used to get in the days/weeks/months before we went into administration....

Not seen that suggested before (unless I missed it somewhere?)

Hoping a fellow Saints fan gets banned for no apparent reason? That's not very nice to a fellow fan.... ;-)

That's the trouble with you humans. You can only be in one place at a time. Us aliens on the other hand.... ;-)

*cough* I do *cough* I think you've ever so slightly exagerated my intelligence and personality though. A slab of concrete is far more attractive than me, mentally and physically. Good that you've read each one from cover to cover though, just so that you can speak from personal experience.... ;-)

Is it too late for the referee to do what the ref did in the Charlton game? i.e. dis-allow the goal; consult linesman; allow the goal; consult 4th official; dis-allow the goal. You gotta love the referees in this division

This week's installment of "Mountains out of molehills".... http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/feb/02/top-gear-viewer-sues-bbc "A Mexican who saw the BBC's Top Gear programme on Sunday, in which her compatriots were described as "lazy, feckless, flatulent [and] overweight", has instructed lawyers to bring a test case against the show under a new equality law. Lawyers for Iris de la Torre, a 30-year-old jewellery design student in London, accused the BBC of using racism to boost ratings and said the case could cost the corporation up to £1m in damages. They demanded an investigation by the BBC and suspension of the show. The BBC has already received an official complaint from the Mexican ambassador, who demanded an apology for the broadcast's "xenophobic" and "offensive" content."

I was just about to venture that very scenario.... :-)

When I click on 'videos' it takes me to an 'upgrade' screen - £4.99 per season for highlights and other 'bits and bobs'.