Dave Benson Phillips

I go corporate and go to loads of away games. So there.

OMG You can have animated avatars I am gonna get myself one of them.

Like Crouchie?

People, whether it be one person or 10,000 have not been able to renew this year because of the late notice of season tickets and removal of installment plan? True or False? There are people, whether it be one person or 10,000 that wanted to go on the pre-season tour. True or false? And by having a lack of empathy, you are unable to put yourself in other peoples shoes... which is what you are failing to do. It is a FACT that people relied on the installment plan and budgeted their funds accordingly, and through the withdrawal of the scheme at late notice, cannot now get a season ticket. True or false? So do you now agree that there is indeed people out there that might find some of the decisions slightly more important than you?

Exactly, they are a cracking day, prefer the MLT Suite to the boxes and Channon Suite, bit more atmosphere, opposite the boardroom and always have a few old heads pop their head in for an interview, free booze, pint (or 2 ) waiting on your table when you arrive back. I think maybe the people that wouldn't be seen dead in there might just be the people who wouldn't get invited in there. I wouldn't want to do it all the time, but half a dozen times a year is spot on.

Another lack of empathy example here. Many people that use the service do so because they cannot stand on their feet/walk for long. Fair comment?

You spoke of Wild-Saint talking sense when he was suggesting that removal of installment plans and late notice of season tickets etc were not important. That shows lack of empathy... because to some people it is important.

Above and Wild-saints post are examples of more lack of empathy. Just because some of the decisions don't affect you, it doesn't mean they don't affect other people.

He doesn't welcome it though. All you get is either silence or " We are not debating this issue " I would LOVE it if he steps up to the plate and has a Solent Fans Forum, which would be a complete suicide mission on his part, I have no doubt he knows this too and it will be " An interview with Nicola " instead.

Nobody can judge how many people were affected by the installment plan, pretty much all of my mates were expecting to pay on installments, I suppose humans are sheep, a couple paid on installments and the rest followed... or maybe the scheme was more popular than speculated on here ( the club have not mentioned how many people used it, so it is just speculation ) And as I said, from my point of view, the general pub chat is different, people seem to think Cortese is bang out of order regarding the season tickets, and that some strange things are going on... some people care about them and some people don't give a toss. With regards to the negativity, well to be honest all we have had pre-season on the positive is a new kit and one signing, on the negative side, almost on a daily basis there is a lack of communication / bad pr / price rise / removal of benefit etc etc Don't get me wrong, when the good news starts flowing, the negative people (maybe even me) will be silenced. Towards the end of last season the club was in a great position to sell 20,000 season tickets with the right pricing and marketing, all my friends were going to renew, and many many more where looking at jumping on the bandwagon... the lack of announcement and their motivation has gone... not a single person out of the 15 or so ( off the top of my head ) who said they were going to buy one this year have, and around half who were going to renew... haven't. We won't know a thing until the end of the season, when we will be able to realistically look back and see what has happened.

I refer back to my point about the vast majority of our fans being completely unable to feel any empathy. To some people they are serious points, just because you pay up front and don't want to go on the pre-season tour, doesn't mean they are not important issues ( and rightly so ) to other people. Typical of our support though to be fair... and certainly more so here than other clubs.

This is the bit that I have tried and tried and tried to get people to realise / appreciate... ... to some people these might seem like minor things. It's not a minor point to someone who now can't buy a season ticket because of the removal of the installment plan. It's not a minor thing to someone who has had their car parking costs doubled. It's not a minor thing that they delayed announcing the pre-season tour to someone who was hoping to go. Etc etc etc People on this forum seem to have absolutely empathy for other Southampton fans, being completely unable to look at it from another supporters perspective.

The next thing will be the withdrawal of the Ted Bates Trophy game I assume. I agree he is trying to use Southampton as a toy, and yes be a trend-setter... but football all around Europe works around season tickets and uses the clubs history and the sense of being an army/family to get people interested and paying to come through the door and support their team. If you don't care about your supporters, then sooner or later they will stop caring about you.

I hope you are not taking it out of Saintsweb Ltd Expenses account Mr Grant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you suggesting that Markus will just write off his investment and walk away? Seriously? Even if he does... he has to sell it, and he won't sell the club for a loss. But there you go, that's the dangerous attitude I was talking about in my reply to Dulldays and the one that the club are exploiting.

It seems again you are going to ignore that you were proven wrong again, so I will just answer the question in hand. Cortese, through PR and Propaganda has convinced a large element of our support that it really is his way or the highway, many people have accepted this and effectively gagged themselves from having a public opinion on it. Take the same conversation away from this forum and into a pub and the reaction is completely different. With most people in agreement that the club have been making some very bad decisions. People seem scared to challenge Cortese, Mr C has been very deliberate in my opinion in how he comes across, using 'buzz phrases' like " Southampton is my baby " and " nobody at this club makes the decisions but me " - this leads people to think that there is no alternative to Cortese, he also repeats that it was him that introduced Liebherr and Marcus wouldn't have taken the project on if it wasn't for him. Which makes people believe that if Cortese goes, then so will Liebherr. In my opinion that's a load of old tosh, firstly Cortese is an employee and can be replaced, secondly Liebherr has invested millions and won't just p!ss it down the drain and walk away because Cortese does, thirdly even if Liebherr does want to walk away, he's still got to sell the club onto someone else. He might be a billionaire but he isn't / won't be spending Man City money... so he is also replaceable ( although I like the bloke to be fair ) So do I want Cortese to leave? Would rather not, he is building a good core to the management structure, I do however he needs to hire a good PR or let Luker and Jordon Sibley etc do their jobs, because in that customer facing department he is f*cking clueless. If he is going to continue in the way he is now, with the scattergun 'like it or lump it ' attitude, then yes... he can go and take up his job at Milan ( lol )

It's not a scandal is it though? Just more questioning why they would do such a thing? I think it's a bit odd... and put it together with several other things which have happened, it does seem as though the club doesn't feel it needs to recognise legends who have contributed to the success of Southampton FC. The only people getting their knickers in a twist are the Cortese foot soldiers who jump on every thread which suggests something even slightly negative. It was just an observation, on its own it's not that much of a big deal I guess... yet look at the thread go...

They wouldn't want to send you out a reminder for your car park season ticket as that will also remind you to renew your season ticket, and they don't want that, do they?

To be fair, it's done now. Who will know the reasons... when the club doesn't talk to the fans about anything, all it leaves is for us to speculate on here. I do very much doubt that they left the pre-season tour till the last minute though.

It's a fact the names have been taken off the packages at the very least. It's a fact the ambassadors club is no more ( although this was done in Decemberish time ) Its a fact you are wrong and they have been removed by Cortese and not the previous regime. Its a fact you won't recognise this and admit you were wrong. These are facts. It is also a fact that as we speak , the Ted Bates Trophy game won't be happening ( although there is still time ) Add them all together and there is reason to debate whether or not the club want to recognise players and managers who have contributed to Southampton FC's history, especially in our 125th anniversary year.

Nobody is asking for anyone to protest, it's pre-season, not alot of news about, so discuss it. If it doesn't interest you, don't discuss it. As an individual act, although not good ( the names have definately been taken off the packages, even if they have not the suites ) , I don't have a massive problem, but if you add it on to the wider picture, you get a better idea of how our club is being run / how it will be run in the future... unless of course you are part of the " Don't upset Nicola, he might leave us " group.

It said The Echo understands that Southampton FC have arranged a pre-season tour of Switzerland in July, although unable to publish full details ( or words to that effect ) - It was in The Pink There is absolutely no way whatsoever they had not booked up a resort like Interlaken a few weeks ago!

The names have been dropped from the hospitality packages, that is a fact. Regardless of whether the suites still have the 'name' above the door. And the Ambassadors Club has gone, that also is a fact.

I don't think Cortese will f*ck off because someone questions why they have dropped the legends names of the Corporate Hospitality packages, discussing it on an internet forum. Do you? And I did contructively question the club about ticketing, spent hours and hours researching my case and presenting it to them, only to be told... 'tough luck, we are not going to talk about it' - I even waited 17 days for a reply before I sent a follow-up. I am not getting my knickers in a twist over this, I just think it's a bit of a shame, that's all... and it ties in with Benali being banned and Le Tiss, Mac and Keegan getting slated.

P*rtsmouth FC Cup Hospitality details... http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~1947783,00.html ( I wonder if Dulldays will ignore this fact that he has been proven wrong again )