I think there is quite a bit of over-glamourising the past, going on here. A lot of guff about Saints being a family club.
Did being a family mean writing to 20% of you once in the summer, asking for money and then making the rest of you stand out in the open in all weathers. Dont recall any great lines of communication coming from the board during the sixties and seventies and it took until we got to Wembley for a club shop to open and that was pretty limited. Before that, as a kid, if you wanted even a replica shirt, forget it. Ditto tickets for away games.
Like others on here, I do not agree with the absence of notice for the changes, but as someone in the 50-60 age bracket, I did not agree with the concession being reduced to 60 in the first place.
I respect Andoverian's opinion, but not his rational. It wasn't any better in "the good ol' days" in fact it was a great deal worse.