spyinthesky

Steve Thanks. Is there any published information available re season ticket sales? Notice that Norwich reportedly sold 19,000 for 2014/15 in February. Brighton are also selling well but their prices, in the Championship, seem to be very reasonable and include interest free Direct debit plus subsidised travel (a la the early Rupert Lowe days here) I have a good deal of sympathy with Eelpies view of things. However not so sure about his comments about Cortese. I am sure he would have been hard nosed if he assumed he was in complete control of the club's affairs. However the situation seems to be different now and the previous (apparent) largesse seems to have been reigned in and presumably he was unwilling to operate under these disciplines

Presume they are likely to be slow due to all the uncertainty. Understand that approx. 22,000 were sold last season but can't see the figure hitting the same mark this year due to the current management/player uncertainty and also the cost which really must be hurting a lot of people. The four I go with have all renewed but primarily out of a sense of duty rather than expectation.

Fair point What I was trying to put over was that Celtic had put an expected value of around £6-£8m on Vic and Cardiff were able to match this. We then came along and offered up £10 - £12m (dependent on who you believe) However Celtic were amazed at our offer and joyfully accepted the additional Wonga.

Any one know what term contract he is on? 3 years? Notice he has been unused sub for Sochaux at the bottom of French league 1 recently and in one game, v Marseilles, he came on at 26 mins then was subbed at 57 mins. I know this has been done to death before but Mayuka £3m, Forren £3m, Osvaldo £12- £15m, Ramirez £10m plus Wanyama (arguably overpriced by £2m+ according to many pundits) you do wonder how good a side we would be if the transfer money had been spent as wisely as for the likes of Clyne, Davis, Cork, Lovren, Rodriguez and, of course, SRL

There always seems to be areas of empty seats even in 'sold out' games. This was evident at the Man Utd game both in the home and away end. Would be interested to know what the reason is. Perhaps problems with the Booking Office computer, ticket holders not turning up (but shouldn't that count in the attendance figure?), tickets allocated to staff (but presumably not in the away end ) etc etc. As mentioned we are 1,000 short of capacity for 'sold out' games and probably 400-500 lost to segregation, so there is a 'missing' 500

Dellboy Thanks I did a quick on a back of fag packet calculation from the programme whilst on a train The figures you quote are correct and it is nice to get over the 30,000 average. Still find it difficult to understand why our best crowd is almost 1,000 short of capacity

Thorpie As a long standing fan I am with you on this No disrespect to younger fans but the level of expectation has risen in recent years and can see why there would be dissatisfaction amongst more recent supporters if we fail to break through the glass ceiling I am happy to see entertaining football, win more than we lose and remain solvent at a time when football finances are very fragile

Total attendance 567,015 Average 29,843 Highest 31,372 v Man Utd Lowest 27,987 v Stoke 2012/13 30,873 Down 3.3% this season Record Average 31,717 2003/4 Record Crowd 32,363 2011/12 So based on the above information it appears we are unable to 'sell out' the ground to an attendance figure which is less than our average gate 10 years ago Presumably the segregation arrangements are the same. Is the difference in Hospitality?

From where I was sat thought the atmosphere was good, particularly in the first half and this was mentioned by some of the 'neutrals' sat around me

I heard something very similar from a staff member at Old Trafford at the turn of 2014 so think there could well be some truth in this

In the corporates today Half of the 10 were supposed Man Utd followrs but none go regularly to games. Food was poor for the money it costs for a box. Everyone thought Saints were great for the first half but expected Utd to improve in the second half as happened. Shame we don't have a couple of quick, nippy forwards as I think we would have won. Not sure exposing Sam Gallagher to these sort of games is helping his development but what choice does the Manager have Man Utd were average and any new manager will have to spend big money to get them back on track. Good atmosphere Was Boruc involved in the pitch celebration? The end of one of the most enjoyable top flight seasons since the Keegan era. Unfortunately the feed back from catering staff (who also work at Staplewood) is that bad news is in store re the Manager and up to 3 of the current first team players (assume Adam, Luke and one other) and this view was confirmed by one of the PR staff at the club. Truly hope this is wrong but fear the worst

Some suggestion that Mark Dennis could be involved

I heard the story about our ex Chief Exec peddling unsettling stories to the press (particularly the Daily Mail - unfortunately can't remember the name of the journo there) from a good source who has no particular axe to grind. Also understand that Man Utd used possible transfer activity (including particular interest in Saints players) to deflect attention from the Moyes sacking a week or two back. Of course the latter situation is not unusual but the press speculation that can be attributed to an ex employee is disappointing but, unfortunately, not an unexpected consequence to a number of us.

Understand from someone close to Everton FC that MLT was guest speaker at a Charity Dinner for Alan Ball last night organised by Ronnie Goodlass (ex Everton player) Apparently MLT went down very well and was a credit to himself and SFC. He took a bit of light hearted stick but gave back as good as he got and was respected for that Good man!! Not sure if the 1984 Semi Final game was mentioned but this was before Le Tiz's time

Don't think that Katharina/Markus side of the family have much/anything to do with the crane/heavy engineering part of the business

My initial thoughts were positive. Great to see as many of our players as possible representing themselves, their countries and SFC at the World Cup. However on a more parochial level, I wonder if the lack of a summer break will mean that our World Cup players may return tired, or carrying knocks from the competition?

Duncan Thanks for sharing Sounds good

Is there an obligation to report attendance at a Driver Awareness Course to your insurer? If so presume it adversely affects your insurance premium

Like the vast majority of supporters I was happy with the set up and the 'vision' on the assumption that Cortese was the owners 'man' and had their full backing and whilst the team was successful (which it really should have been with the financial backing in place) However there were a number of issues that I was personally unhappy about (but for my sins was willing to overlook whilst the team was on an upward trend) The number of stories, from a variety of good and respected sources about Cortese's attitude to people and local businesses did him, and more importantly, the club's standing in the local and wider community, no good at all. I do hope the new administration will continue to progress the club and they seem intent in forging closer links with supporters and the wider community so lets hope we move on and consign Cortese to an item in Duncan and Co's next book (btw this is a must read for all supporters and a great effort!!)

The notice says Dean Park so assumed it was one of the first set of cameras opposite the football ground

Any one know what the speed limit along this road is please? I assumed it was 50mph and this is shown on a relevant website However I have been sent a notice of intended prosecution with a notified speed of 47 mph Any assistance appreciated

Everton fans complaining that it was one of their worse performances of the season, against a side who weren't all that good.... oh and they were robbed by the referee!! Seems such a familiar response by quite a few supporters, particularly the 'bigger' clubs, when we have dominated a game

Interesting clip. 1. Game much different now. Then much more robust and copious long balls. I reckon our current side are better than the side of 1984. Frank Worthington was a better striker than Osvaldo and Shilton would be an asset to todays side as would Danny Wallace. 2. Shorts ....short!! 3. Pitch... worn as usual for time 4. Pass back to keeper ... he could collect and then wallop up field 5. Offside... an offence even if not interfering with play 6. Southall kept Everton in the game. We had some decent chances. 7. My recollection of the game was that we dominated but it seems we were on the rack second half 8. I thought their goal came after an incorrect throw in was given to Everton. However it came after a free kick against Reuben Agboola 9. Still remember the disappointment

Unfortunately not so relevant now but before the Man City game there was the usual chorus of..'We are Southampton, we're off to Brazil'.. followed by '''You dirty skate b***ARDs you're off to the Skrill'.. There was also rendition of the old favourite.. 'Pompey, Pompey, give us your answer do, what's it like to go down from Division 2' (probably needs to be changed to 'Stuck in Division 2, for next year)