kwsaint Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 Just got an email back from Saints. Said that there wouldn't be an adult membership scheme this year even though there was one the last time we were in the championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 Good. No need for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Duckhunter Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 I personally think there should be some sort of scheme. Basing eligibility to buy tickets for big games on "being on the database" is not the fairest system in my opinion. Personally I would go for a £50 per year membership, with £5 cheaper tickets for the first 8 games you attend. It means £10 admin per member to run the scheme and then ensures that people who attend a decent amount of games get second choice (after S/T holders) for tickets. I have 2 grown up children, one attends every game he can around work (normally about 12-15 games a season). The other one will go occasionally when he feels like it and there's a decent game on. In the eyes of the Club,both are the same when it comes to tickets. Surely a scheme that makes the club a bit of money and also ensures a fairer distribution on tickets is one nobody can complain about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 I personally think there should be some sort of scheme. Basing eligibility to buy tickets for big games on "being on the database" is not the fairest system in my opinion. Personally I would go for a £50 per year membership, with £5 cheaper tickets for the first 8 games you attend. It means £10 admin per member to run the scheme and then ensures that people who attend a decent amount of games get second choice (after S/T holders) for tickets. I have 2 grown up children, one attends every game he can around work (normally about 12-15 games a season). The other one will go occasionally when he feels like it and there's a decent game on. In the eyes of the Club,both are the same when it comes to tickets. Surely a scheme that makes the club a bit of money and also ensures a fairer distribution on tickets is one nobody can complain about. Agree - pretty similar to my situation. A membership scheme suited me down to the ground when last in the Prem/CCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 nobody can complain about. Nobody complain? The Saintsweb Forum? You sure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewell Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 I find it annoying I can't book online, I liked being a member. I am a former member and nothing has changed for me with regards to booking online! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Porter Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 They're pointless. Say for Pompey away, someone could buy a membership for £20 (think it was that much last time) at the start of the season and get a ticket ahead of someone who's been to every away game - not fair. Even that situation is a bit of a long shot since it's almost certain STH will take all the pompey tickets. It's almost just a badge to prove you're a super dooper fan who just can't be arsed with a season ticket or can't attend every home game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Duckhunter Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 They're pointless. Say for Pompey away, someone could buy a membership for £20 (think it was that much last time) at the start of the season and get a ticket ahead of someone who's been to every away game - not fair. Even that situation is a bit of a long shot since it's almost certain STH will take all the pompey tickets. They could easily track someones purchase history and sell tickets to people who had been to a certain number of games, before going on "database" sale.If they can do this just using the database then great no need for membership (they did it for Bournemouth away last year I believe). But to lump people who go to a dozen games a season, in with someone who has been to SMS once, is clearly wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 It's an odd situation not having a membership scheme when there are clearly many fans who can't get a season ticket for whatever reason who would probably be willing to pay up to £25 just for the "privilege" of having a Saints-branded card with their name and customer number on it and getting second dibs on away tickets. It's basically free money for the club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solentstars Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 It's an odd situation not having a membership scheme when there are clearly many fans who can't get a season ticket for whatever reason who would probably be willing to pay up to £25 just for the "privilege" of having a Saints-branded card with their name and customer number on it and getting second dibs on away tickets. It's basically free money for the club.i agree and if we get back to the premiership and the price of a season goes above £650 to 700 i for one will chuck my season ticket in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
um pahars Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 It's an odd situation not having a membership scheme when there are clearly many fans who can't get a season ticket for whatever reason who would probably be willing to pay up to £25 just for the "privilege" of having a Saints-branded card with their name and customer number on it and getting second dibs on away tickets. It's basically free money for the club. Is it worth the hassle and cost??? Perhaps they just don't think the take up would be that great as most people will be able to get a home ticket (think season ticket take up will be fairly low and we won't be selling out) and the really decent away tickets (Portsmuff) will all be snapped up by season ticket holders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 i agree and if we get back to the premiership and the price of a season goes above £650 to 700 i for one will chuck my season ticket in. £650 is £34 a match £700 is £37 a match That is cheap in comparison to many Premier League clubs today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 Is it worth the hassle and cost??? Depends exactly how much of a hassle and cost it actually is, I guess. Initially the only admin is data entry and a single payment procession. Then they would have an extra sales period for individual match tickets, but that's just setting a series of dates and deadlines, surely no big deal? The only situation I can think of where it becomes a pain is for a cup final where the allocation is smaller than the combined total of ST holders and members - what's the likelihood of that situation arising in the short to medium-term? Slim, I'd bet. Perhaps they just don't think the take up would be that great as most people will be able to get a home ticket (think season ticket take up will be fairly low and we won't be selling out) and the really decent away tickets (Portsmuff) will all be snapped up by season ticket holders. The previous two Pompey away games have gone to general sale as the ballot was undersubscribed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 £650 is £34 a match £700 is £37 a match That is cheap in comparison to many Premier League clubs today. It may well be "cheap" compared to the likes of Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea and Spurs, but does it provide value for money? I'd say it doesn't even come close, especially when a season ticket generally gives you a decent discount on the matchday price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
um pahars Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 Depends exactly how much of a hassle and cost it actually is, I guess. Was just throwing it in as a possible motive. Wouldn't have thought the cost would be that high, but perhaps they also thought the demand (and income) wouldn't be that high either. What sort of numbers do you think we would sell??? The previous two Pompey away games have gone to general sale as the ballot was undersubscribed. So maybe a reason to get ahead of the General Sale and get a membership, but that's probably the only one (unless we have a really successful season) as I don't really see a problem getting tickets for other away games (Brighton???) and certainly not home games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 £650 is £34 a match £700 is £37 a match That is cheap in comparison to many Premier League clubs today. In comparison to other clubs, yes. In comparison to my mortgage and other responsibilities it's a massive drain. I have already accepted that I cannot afford to see us when we get there, I can barely justify it as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNSUN Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 I find it annoying I can't book online, I liked being a member. I've never been a member, but two seasons ago I emailed the club and asked them for a customer number and got one. They were very helpful, and it's a lot easier now. It didn't help when I wanted Lee Evans tickets though, so it's not perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 What sort of numbers do you think we would sell??? So maybe a reason to get ahead of the General Sale and get a membership, but that's probably the only one (unless we have a really successful season) as I don't really see a problem getting tickets for other away games (Brighton???) and certainly not home games. No idea how many we'd sell, but I think in previous years we've had as many as 10k. That would clearly be very optimistic for a scheme that hasn't existed for a few years, but shows the potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junction 9 Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 i agree and if we get back to the premiership and the price of a season goes above £650 to 700 i for one will chuck my season ticket in. Same here, many others I go with would do the same. I think by the time we get there it may even cost more than that, no way I'm paying that. Still, look on the bight side. The stadium will be so big by then there will be no problem getting a ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solentstars Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 In comparison to other clubs, yes. In comparison to my mortgage and other responsibilities it's a massive drain. I have already accepted that I cannot afford to see us when we get there, I can barely justify it as it is. thats how i see it and i love the saints but i can only justify a certain price point i will pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 Same here, many others I go with would do the same. I think by the time we get there it may even cost more than that, no way I'm paying that. Still, look on the bight side. The stadium will be so big by then there will be no problem getting a ticket. And tickets will be cheaper, apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintBobby Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 I personally think there should be some sort of scheme. Basing eligibility to buy tickets for big games on "being on the database" is not the fairest system in my opinion. Personally I would go for a £50 per year membership, with £5 cheaper tickets for the first 8 games you attend. It means £10 admin per member to run the scheme and then ensures that people who attend a decent amount of games get second choice (after S/T holders) for tickets. I have 2 grown up children, one attends every game he can around work (normally about 12-15 games a season). The other one will go occasionally when he feels like it and there's a decent game on. In the eyes of the Club,both are the same when it comes to tickets. Surely a scheme that makes the club a bit of money and also ensures a fairer distribution on tickets is one nobody can complain about. It's not worth the candle. You may buy a membership for £50 and then go to 8 games (and get a saving of £40). This doesn't mean there's just a £10 admin "gain" for the club. You may have gone to these 8 games anyway. And the club would then have got exactly the same revenue, without having to post you some membership card and employing some bureaucratic box ticker to measure how many home games you've been to or employ a call centre to deal with people who want to use their 8th discount voucher for an away game or cup game. So, the costs for the club would be way higher than a tenner. Plus, it's pretty simple. We don't tend to sell out at SMS and this will tend to be the case next season too. If you're going to attend a decent number of home games and/or don't want the administrative hassle of booking seats for each game you want to go to, then buy a f-ing season ticket. The very best seats are available for less than £600. If you're only going to attend only a handful of home games (up to ten), then just get your life in order and book for the games you want. There was no game last season that you would have been unfairly excluded from. Walsall was a sell out but the only reason a member of the public wouldn't have got in was if they'd booked too late. A membership system doesn't solve this. We'd just have people whining that because they were a £50 member and had been for 4 years, someone at the club should have notified them that tickets were selling fast/they should receive preferential treatment and be allowed to come and go as they please/tickets went on general sale too quickly etc etc etc. I repeat. Even if you choose not to buy a season ticket, you will be able to get into every game at SMS next season as long as you are capable of runnign your life as something approaching a half-competent adult. On away tickets, the rule of priority is (and should be): 1. Hard core season ticket holders first (e.g. those who have attended 5+ away games) 2. The rest of the season ticket holders next 3. Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games next. 4. Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis. If you want a club badge, a club wallet and a list of club secrets, then write to the Beano and join the Dennis the Menace fanclub. If you want to watch Southampton play football, then get a grip on your life and your diary and don't bother designing highly complicated, enormously bureaucratic schemes which you want the club to carry out in order that your own specific needs and failings are catered for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 £650 is £34 a match £700 is £37 a match That is cheap in comparison to many Premier League clubs today. That maybe true but it's way more than I'd pay to watch football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Block 5 Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 Membership = pointless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
de-fence Posted 23 June, 2011 Share Posted 23 June, 2011 On away tickets, the rule of priority is (and should be): 1. Hard core season ticket holders first (e.g. those who have attended 5+ away games) 2. The rest of the season ticket holders next 3. Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games next. 4. Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis. You are quite a condescending, distasteful person aren't you. What you says goes because its written in a well structured format with an underlying superiority complex that says 'I am right, challenge me and I'll throw more derogoratory, needless jibes in your direction'. Tone it down mate, you're on a web forum and your name's Bobby. Anyway more to the point, and I'll happily engage in an informed debate with someone about this, the section I have quoted here has always been something that's puzzled me slightly and I would quite like it to be cleared up. I assume I'm in the minority here and hence am probably wrong but I have never understood why someone with a season ticket who hasn't attended a single away game gets priority for away game tickets over someone without a season ticket who attends every away game, taking the most extreme case. I understand the whole giving money to the club which away tickets obviously don't do, but that does disregard the monumental effort and expense someone who attends a large amount of away games puts into supporting the team. Not that I want to winge about my own situation but take it as an example. I'm at uni in Bristol, there's no chance whatsoever that I could make it to every home game as my course is pretty work intensive and I have a long distance relationship to maintain. There is therefore obviously no point whatsoever buying a ST, especially as it would be bought with money that isn't mine (my loan). I have however sighted 14ish away games I plan on attending and perhaps 10 home games as well. So yes I am giving a fairly considerable amount of money to the club as well as paying to travel a lot of distance to support the team away. So when it comes to the Pompey tickets released, I still don't quite understand how someone who owns a ST, walks down the street to the stadium then goes home again but fancies the one off trip to Pompey gets priority over someone who goes to Ipswich and alike on a Tuesday night. I'm expecting a response along the lines of financial support is more valuable to the club than presence at games but I just see that as a damning indictment of the modern game. Any well-mannered response is welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintBobby Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 On away tickets, the rule of priority is (and should be): 1. Hard core season ticket holders first (e.g. those who have attended 5+ away games) 2. The rest of the season ticket holders next 3. Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games next. 4. Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis. You are quite a condescending, distasteful person aren't you. What you says goes because its written in a well structured format with an underlying superiority complex that says 'I am right, challenge me and I'll throw more derogoratory, needless jibes in your direction'. Tone it down mate, you're on a web forum and your name's Bobby. Anyway more to the point, and I'll happily engage in an informed debate with someone about this, the section I have quoted here has always been something that's puzzled me slightly and I would quite like it to be cleared up. I assume I'm in the minority here and hence am probably wrong but I have never understood why someone with a season ticket who hasn't attended a single away game gets priority for away game tickets over someone without a season ticket who attends every away game, taking the most extreme case. I understand the whole giving money to the club which away tickets obviously don't do, but that does disregard the monumental effort and expense someone who attends a large amount of away games puts into supporting the team. Not that I want to winge about my own situation but take it as an example. I'm at uni in Bristol, there's no chance whatsoever that I could make it to every home game as my course is pretty work intensive and I have a long distance relationship to maintain. There is therefore obviously no point whatsoever buying a ST, especially as it would be bought with money that isn't mine (my loan). I have however sighted 14ish away games I plan on attending and perhaps 10 home games as well. So yes I am giving a fairly considerable amount of money to the club as well as paying to travel a lot of distance to support the team away. So when it comes to the Pompey tickets released, I still don't quite understand how someone who owns a ST, walks down the street to the stadium then goes home again but fancies the one off trip to Pompey gets priority over someone who goes to Ipswich and alike on a Tuesday night. I'm expecting a response along the lines of financial support is more valuable to the club than presence at games but I just see that as a damning indictment of the modern game. Any well-mannered response is welcome You want a "well informed debate" - indeed, would "happily engage" in one? But I'm "condescending and distatseful" in virtue of my posts being "written in a well structured format". I also have an "underlying superiority complex". And I should "tone it down". I'm not entirely clear whethe you are aspiring to be my psychologist or my mother. Or whether you are suitably qualified to fill either role! I'm surpised that you only welcome "well-mannered responses", given the rather abusive personal language you have used to describe me. Nevertheless, I shall try to meet your request rather than emulate your personalised, abusive behaviour. The issue absoultely is NOT "financial support" v "presence at games". The issue is how Saints should decide to issue scarce, very sought after away tickets (there's no real problem getting into home games). This system needs to have the features of being (a) fair in rewarding loyal fans and (b) simple and cheap to execute. The second of these is an important consideration. To take your own example to an even greater extreme...one can conceive of a Saints fan who has gone to every away game in the last five years but doesn't own a season ticket. In order to be completely fair to such a fan - or other cases such as a fan who has been to 500 away games in his life, but didn't go to any last year because he was recovering from cancer and also doesn't have a season ticket - Southampton FC could set up some committee system with appeals being possible for those disappointed by the original verdict. Applications for tickets to, say, Pompey away would be in writing and considered by the executive commitee on their merits. Every single one of 10,000 letters would be read, analysed, graded and rated. An interview process with the applicants could be considered. Perhaps marginal cases could meet Nicola Cortese and members of the Liebherr family for a four hour interview. Legal representation for applicants could be provided at the expense of the club. This is obviously a reducto ad absurdium, but just illusrates the point that total fairness is not possible. Nor indeed the club's problem. Generally speaking - only generally speaking - season ticket holder are the most loyal fans. Yes, there will be exceptions. Some season ticket holders are probably quite casual fans. There will be some non-season ticket holders who attend 40+ games a season. But, as a rule of thumb, it's a reasonable one. Hard-core fans who aren't season ticket holders do have other ways to access precious tickets. I think (although maybe wrong here) that the affilated supporters groups get a small ticket allocation for massive games. For the FA Cup final, for example, the London Saints Supporters Club were offered a block of about 30 tickets. I guess this applies to the West Country Saints too. If these arrangements have been abandoned, they should be reinstated. In short, if you're a mad keen, very loyal Saints fan in Bristol who (a) doesn't have a season ticket (b) isn't a member of the regional supporters group and © doesn't have the financial resources to secure a black market ticket to the away end at Fratton Park and (d) can't somehow pull a favour with the club or with the fanbase to secure a ticket, then, yes, you're going to miss out. Too bad. We can't make sure that the 2,324 tickets available for a particular away game go to the prefectly callibrated most loyal 2,324 fans. It's just too much like hard work. It's also essentially contestable and endlessly controversial. There isn't a "right" answer. But we probably can ensure that the 2,324 tickets are only shared out amongst, say, the most loyal 4,000 fans. And maybe a tiny handful of stragglers. That will do. That's okay. That's good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stmusicdude Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 It's not worth the candle. You may buy a membership for £50 and then go to 8 games (and get a saving of £40). This doesn't mean there's just a £10 admin "gain" for the club. You may have gone to these 8 games anyway. And the club would then have got exactly the same revenue, without having to post you some membership card and employing some bureaucratic box ticker to measure how many home games you've been to or employ a call centre to deal with people who want to use their 8th discount voucher for an away game or cup game. So, the costs for the club would be way higher than a tenner. Plus, it's pretty simple. We don't tend to sell out at SMS and this will tend to be the case next season too. If you're going to attend a decent number of home games and/or don't want the administrative hassle of booking seats for each game you want to go to, then buy a f-ing season ticket. The very best seats are available for less than £600. If you're only going to attend only a handful of home games (up to ten), then just get your life in order and book for the games you want. There was no game last season that you would have been unfairly excluded from. Walsall was a sell out but the only reason a member of the public wouldn't have got in was if they'd booked too late. A membership system doesn't solve this. We'd just have people whining that because they were a £50 member and had been for 4 years, someone at the club should have notified them that tickets were selling fast/they should receive preferential treatment and be allowed to come and go as they please/tickets went on general sale too quickly etc etc etc. I repeat. Even if you choose not to buy a season ticket, you will be able to get into every game at SMS next season as long as you are capable of runnign your life as something approaching a half-competent adult.On away tickets, the rule of priority is (and should be): 1. Hard core season ticket holders first (e.g. those who have attended 5+ away games) 2. The rest of the season ticket holders next 3. Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games next. 4. Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis. If you want a club badge, a club wallet and a list of club secrets, then write to the Beano and join the Dennis the Menace fanclub. If you want to watch Southampton play football, then get a grip on your life and your diary and don't bother designing highly complicated, enormously bureaucratic schemes which you want the club to carry out in order that your own specific needs and failings are catered for. dont you just love these cyber heros who either know it all or who believe because they think something it MUST be right. How the hell the club having a membership system would upset you god knows but you need to get a grip with attempting to talk down to ppl .. pathetic!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintBobby Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 dont you just love these cyber heros who either know it all or who believe because they think something it MUST be right. How the hell the club having a membership system would upset you god knows but you need to get a grip with attempting to talk down to ppl .. pathetic!! It wouldn't upset me. It would just be a slightly stupid waste of money. The sentence you have highlighted in my post is accurate in every respect. I think it is true. And it is indeed true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stmusicdude Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 It wouldn't upset me. It would just be a slightly stupid waste of money. The sentence you have highlighted in my post is accurate in every respect. I think it is true. And it is indeed true. LOL re the highlighted i wasnt trying to highlight any was trying to cut some of the txt away You come over in your first reply as talking down to those who think it would be a great idea. when you say a waste of money .. for who? any revenue streams tjhat make money are part of the club getting itself a better wad to play with? either way seems it could benifit both sides .. same as the ticket prices the season tickets & many other issues we get ppl jump on here & either mock attack & dig at those who express the opinion about getting them .. WHY? why the f*** does someone getting a season ticket or membership bother some of these cyber heros? good god they are so up there own as***** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGTL Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 It looks like you're the only person getting bothered... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintDonkey Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 Is it worth the hassle and cost??? Perhaps they just don't think the take up would be that great as most people will be able to get a home ticket (think season ticket take up will be fairly low and we won't be selling out) and the really decent away tickets (Portsmuff) will all be snapped up by season ticket holders. Last time away at Fratton Park I got my ticket through being a member rather than a season ticket holder, and that was in the Premiership of course when we had more season ticket holders, so a membership scheme does work in that respect. Of course with hindsight I wish I hadn't been there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolosfc Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 I personally think there should be some sort of scheme. Basing eligibility to buy tickets for big games on "being on the database" is not the fairest system in my opinion. Personally I would go for a £50 per year membership, with £5 cheaper tickets for the first 8 games you attend. It means £10 admin per member to run the scheme and then ensures that people who attend a decent amount of games get second choice (after S/T holders) for tickets. I have 2 grown up children, one attends every game he can around work (normally about 12-15 games a season). The other one will go occasionally when he feels like it and there's a decent game on. In the eyes of the Club,both are the same when it comes to tickets. Surely a scheme that makes the club a bit of money and also ensures a fairer distribution on tickets is one nobody can complain about. Exactly the same as me, totally agree with this. I had a season ticket for about 8 years, now I can no longer afford it and can't get to every game but still manage about 10-15 games a season. However I am classed in the same category of fan as someone who has bought a one-off ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughieslastminutegoal Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 (edited) It's not worth the candle. You may buy a membership for £50 and then go to 8 games (and get a saving of £40). This doesn't mean there's just a £10 admin "gain" for the club. You may have gone to these 8 games anyway. And the club would then have got exactly the same revenue, without having to post you some membership card and employing some bureaucratic box ticker to measure how many home games you've been to or employ a call centre to deal with people who want to use their 8th discount voucher for an away game or cup game. So, the costs for the club would be way higher than a tenner. Plus, it's pretty simple. We don't tend to sell out at SMS and this will tend to be the case next season too. If you're going to attend a decent number of home games and/or don't want the administrative hassle of booking seats for each game you want to go to, then buy a f-ing season ticket. The very best seats are available for less than £600. If you're only going to attend only a handful of home games (up to ten), then just get your life in order and book for the games you want. There was no game last season that you would have been unfairly excluded from. Walsall was a sell out but the only reason a member of the public wouldn't have got in was if they'd booked too late. A membership system doesn't solve this. We'd just have people whining that because they were a £50 member and had been for 4 years, someone at the club should have notified them that tickets were selling fast/they should receive preferential treatment and be allowed to come and go as they please/tickets went on general sale too quickly etc etc etc. I repeat. Even if you choose not to buy a season ticket, you will be able to get into every game at SMS next season as long as you are capable of runnign your life as something approaching a half-competent adult. On away tickets, the rule of priority is (and should be): 1. Hard core season ticket holders first (e.g. those who have attended 5+ away games) 2. The rest of the season ticket holders next 3. Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games next. 4. Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis. If you want a club badge, a club wallet and a list of club secrets, then write to the Beano and join the Dennis the Menace fanclub. If you want to watch Southampton play football, then get a grip on your life and your diary and don't bother designing highly complicated, enormously bureaucratic schemes which you want the club to carry out in order that your own specific needs and failings are catered for. I kind of agree, but then I've been questioning for a while now what "being a fan of my club" really means. You seem to be suggesting that it's just "buy a ticket to watch a local(ish) team play professional football", and I certainly believe that's how NC sees it. If he gets the club up to a certain level, he'll charge what he can successfully get away with, and as long as the tickets are in sufficient demand, if you don't want it at that price there's enough others who will. End of. Edited 24 June, 2011 by hughieslastminutegoal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 why would I (or anyone) right now pay for a membership.. lets say they are what...£25...to get what..? tickets that I can get anyway..? £5 off the club shirt... hardly worth the effort...IF we ever get back to the prem, then maybe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano6 Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 It's an odd situation not having a membership scheme when there are clearly many fans who can't get a season ticket for whatever reason who would probably be willing to pay up to £25 just for the "privilege" of having a Saints-branded card with their name and customer number on it and getting second dibs on away tickets. It's basically free money for the club. I was a member 5 years ago and already have a saints branded card with my customer number on it in my wallet. I can also book tickets online just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintBobby Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 LOL re the highlighted i wasnt trying to highlight any was trying to cut some of the txt away You come over in your first reply as talking down to those who think it would be a great idea. when you say a waste of money .. for who? any revenue streams tjhat make money are part of the club getting itself a better wad to play with? either way seems it could benifit both sides .. same as the ticket prices the season tickets & many other issues we get ppl jump on here & either mock attack & dig at those who express the opinion about getting them .. WHY? why the f*** does someone getting a season ticket or membership bother some of these cyber heros? good god they are so up there own as***** I said it DIDN'T upset me...just that it was a waste of money. And I outlined why I believed this to be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jones91 Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 I have an xbox live membership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Porter Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 why would I (or anyone) right now pay for a membership.. lets say they are what...£25...to get what..? tickets that I can get anyway..? £5 off the club shirt... hardly worth the effort...IF we ever get back to the prem, then maybe Exactly. We'd probably sell 1000, it's hardly worth the hassle for what's a relatively tiny ammount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Duckhunter Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 On away tickets, the rule of priority is (and should be): 1. Hard core season ticket holders first (e.g. those who have attended 5+ away games) 2. The rest of the season ticket holders next 3. Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games next. 4. Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis. If you want a club badge, a club wallet and a list of club secrets, then write to the Beano and join the Dennis the Menace fanclub. If you want to watch Southampton play football, then get a grip on your life and your diary and don't bother designing highly complicated, enormously bureaucratic schemes which you want the club to carry out in order that your own specific needs and failings are catered for. What seems bizzare about your rant is that you want "Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games" to have third choice, in front of every other human on the planet". That is all people are asking for regarding home games. We want "Non season ticket holders who have been to a good number of HOME games", to be given priority over "Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis". I think membership is the best way to ensure this, if you dont, then fine.But how can you agree with number of games attended for away games, but not home? It doesn't make sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 I've always felt, despite being one, that season tickets holders should have no claim over away tickets. Those who go to away games, season ticket holders or not, should always get 1st shout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Saint Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 No idea how many we'd sell, but I think in previous years we've had as many as 10k. That would clearly be very optimistic for a scheme that hasn't existed for a few years, but shows the potential. Once upon a time and even when we were at SMS the Membership scheme had reportedly 21K folks who had signed up to it beyond ST holders, not sure how many of that included Junior Saints who did get a great deal of value in their packs (topped the Newsround poll for best value one year- as my kids bounced round the room telling me when I came in one evening). Of course many folks would have kept on their memberships from the scramble to get tickets at The Dell out of habit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
de-fence Posted 24 June, 2011 Share Posted 24 June, 2011 On away tickets, the rule of priority is (and should be): 1. Hard core season ticket holders first (e.g. those who have attended 5+ away games) 2. The rest of the season ticket holders next 3. Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games next. 4. Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis. You want a "well informed debate" - indeed, would "happily engage" in one? But I'm "condescending and distatseful" in virtue of my posts being "written in a well structured format". I also have an "underlying superiority complex". And I should "tone it down". I'm not entirely clear whethe you are aspiring to be my psychologist or my mother. Or whether you are suitably qualified to fill either role! I'm surpised that you only welcome "well-mannered responses", given the rather abusive personal language you have used to describe me. Nevertheless, I shall try to meet your request rather than emulate your personalised, abusive behaviour. The issue absoultely is NOT "financial support" v "presence at games". The issue is how Saints should decide to issue scarce, very sought after away tickets (there's no real problem getting into home games). This system needs to have the features of being (a) fair in rewarding loyal fans and (b) simple and cheap to execute. The second of these is an important consideration. To take your own example to an even greater extreme...one can conceive of a Saints fan who has gone to every away game in the last five years but doesn't own a season ticket. In order to be completely fair to such a fan - or other cases such as a fan who has been to 500 away games in his life, but didn't go to any last year because he was recovering from cancer and also doesn't have a season ticket - Southampton FC could set up some committee system with appeals being possible for those disappointed by the original verdict. Applications for tickets to, say, Pompey away would be in writing and considered by the executive commitee on their merits. Every single one of 10,000 letters would be read, analysed, graded and rated. An interview process with the applicants could be considered. Perhaps marginal cases could meet Nicola Cortese and members of the Liebherr family for a four hour interview. Legal representation for applicants could be provided at the expense of the club. This is obviously a reducto ad absurdium, but just illusrates the point that total fairness is not possible. Nor indeed the club's problem. Generally speaking - only generally speaking - season ticket holder are the most loyal fans. Yes, there will be exceptions. Some season ticket holders are probably quite casual fans. There will be some non-season ticket holders who attend 40+ games a season. But, as a rule of thumb, it's a reasonable one. Hard-core fans who aren't season ticket holders do have other ways to access precious tickets. I think (although maybe wrong here) that the affilated supporters groups get a small ticket allocation for massive games. For the FA Cup final, for example, the London Saints Supporters Club were offered a block of about 30 tickets. I guess this applies to the West Country Saints too. If these arrangements have been abandoned, they should be reinstated. In short, if you're a mad keen, very loyal Saints fan in Bristol who (a) doesn't have a season ticket (b) isn't a member of the regional supporters group and © doesn't have the financial resources to secure a black market ticket to the away end at Fratton Park and (d) can't somehow pull a favour with the club or with the fanbase to secure a ticket, then, yes, you're going to miss out. Too bad. We can't make sure that the 2,324 tickets available for a particular away game go to the prefectly callibrated most loyal 2,324 fans. It's just too much like hard work. It's also essentially contestable and endlessly controversial. There isn't a "right" answer. But we probably can ensure that the 2,324 tickets are only shared out amongst, say, the most loyal 4,000 fans. And maybe a tiny handful of stragglers. That will do. That's okay. That's good enough. I'm not trying to be either. But just from reading these posts of yours it is pretty easy to label you. Read them through again and think, would anyone like this person if they were talking like that to someone in a pub or somewhere. Lets just put it this way, if we were having this debate in person would you really finish it with 'That will do. That's okay. That's good enough.' You'd get smacked in the face for being so self-righteous from a fair few people I know. I just took offence to your general tone but anyway you are obviously fairly self-assured in that respect so I wouldn't dare criticise it any further. Your post was ridiculous. Nowhere did anyone suggest people send a letter in to have their application individually analysed. I know you were taking it to an extreme but even so, what's the point? Just a complete waste of time and energy typing that all out. What the debate is here is whether people who have been to many away games should get priority even if they are not season ticket holders. Its that simple so you can scrap most of what you wrote. Because no it really doesn't have to be as drawn out as you suggest it does. The scheme used to be in order of priority: ST Holder with 6 away games, Non-ST Holder with 6 away games, ST with 5 away games and so on. So essentially ST holders still get a certain level of priority, but dedicated away fans are also rewarded. Its really a very simple system, so much as your suggestion was also a suggestion, that would be the most appropriate way of doing it, if you were to reward and include away supporters. So the debate then comes down to, you have 2 systems, the one I just detailed, or one whereby you talk Non-ST Holders out of the equation. And that's the real question here that should be debated. Anything else is a side issue because yes there's no need for memberships for anything other than this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Block 5 Posted 25 June, 2011 Share Posted 25 June, 2011 SaintBobby and de-fence are having a right old gay-off in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintBobby Posted 25 June, 2011 Share Posted 25 June, 2011 I'm not trying to be either. But just from reading these posts of yours it is pretty easy to label you. Read them through again and think, would anyone like this person if they were talking like that to someone in a pub or somewhere. Lets just put it this way, if we were having this debate in person would you really finish it with 'That will do. That's okay. That's good enough.' You'd get smacked in the face for being so self-righteous from a fair few people I know. I just took offence to your general tone but anyway you are obviously fairly self-assured in that respect so I wouldn't dare criticise it any further. Your post was ridiculous. Nowhere did anyone suggest people send a letter in to have their application individually analysed. I know you were taking it to an extreme but even so, what's the point? Just a complete waste of time and energy typing that all out. What the debate is here is whether people who have been to many away games should get priority even if they are not season ticket holders. Its that simple so you can scrap most of what you wrote. Because no it really doesn't have to be as drawn out as you suggest it does. The scheme used to be in order of priority: ST Holder with 6 away games, Non-ST Holder with 6 away games, ST with 5 away games and so on. So essentially ST holders still get a certain level of priority, but dedicated away fans are also rewarded. Its really a very simple system, so much as your suggestion was also a suggestion, that would be the most appropriate way of doing it, if you were to reward and include away supporters. So the debate then comes down to, you have 2 systems, the one I just detailed, or one whereby you talk Non-ST Holders out of the equation. And that's the real question here that should be debated. Anything else is a side issue because yes there's no need for memberships for anything other than this. It's a message board. Not a pub. Hope this helps. And I have no problem ending thoughts with saying "that'll do, it's good enough, that's okay". I don't know what pubs you go to where these words elicit extreme violence from anyone listening to them. Sounds pretty retarded to me. Your system isn't "fair"...STHs should get priority, even if they have attended one or two less away games. As I've said, your system is unnecessary anyway. Any sufficiently devoted fan will make it into any game they want, with possible excpetion of Pompey away. It's just not worth setting up a whole system to deal with one of the 46 league games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stmusicdude Posted 25 June, 2011 Share Posted 25 June, 2011 It's a message board. Not a pub. Hope this helps. And I have no problem ending thoughts with saying "that'll do, it's good enough, that's okay". I don't know what pubs you go to where these words elicit extreme violence from anyone listening to them. Sounds pretty retarded to me. Your system isn't "fair"...STHs should get priority, even if they have attended one or two less away games. As I've said, your system is unnecessary anyway. Any sufficiently devoted fan will make it into any game they want, with possible excpetion of Pompey away. It's just not worth setting up a whole system to deal with one of the 46 league games. clubs have to be self sufficient anything at all that help boost our income is a bonus the membership has potential to earn over 250k but dont let the other details spoil ur argument Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintBobby Posted 25 June, 2011 Share Posted 25 June, 2011 clubs have to be self sufficient anything at all that help boost our income is a bonus the membership has potential to earn over 250k but dont let the other details spoil ur argument It wouldn't even wash its own face. It would raise nowhere near 25OK. It would be expensive to administer and you need to factor in opportunity costs. For example, some cuurent purchasers of season tickets might downgrade to mere membership and end up attending less games and handing over less money as a result. The scheme being proposed was for a 50 fee attached to a 40 discount. The club only clears a tenner per member. The admin costs are likely to be higher than this - but even if you assume that the cost would only be £5 per person to administer, you would need to sign up 50,000 members to make your suggested 250K profit. That simply isn't going to happen. There are, in practice, only a small number of fans a membership scheme would appeal to. A very high proportion of hardcore fans are already season ticket holders. Those who aren't are almost all able to get to all the games they want to go without the slightest problem (generally only home games). Those who are hardcore, but not season ticket holders, can often join a group like the London Saints Supporters Club who can help with tickets. So, those who are likely to see any real benefit in a membership scheme are nowhere near 50,000. Not 10,000. Possibly not even 1,000. And at this point, the income from a membership scheme probably doesn't even cover the administrative set-up costs, let alone the on running servicing costs. The 250K figure is just a fantasy number you've plucked out of the air. Running a scheme would cost the club money in the NPC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintBobby Posted 25 June, 2011 Share Posted 25 June, 2011 What seems bizzare about your rant is that you want "Non-season ticket holders who have attended a good number of away games" to have third choice, in front of every other human on the planet". That is all people are asking for regarding home games. We want "Non season ticket holders who have been to a good number of HOME games", to be given priority over "Every other human being on the planet on a first come first served basis". I think membership is the best way to ensure this, if you dont, then fine.But how can you agree with number of games attended for away games, but not home? It doesn't make sense to me. Even if you want to add that in, you just need a database, not a membership scheme. We have that anyway (although I don't know how robust it is - but it is used for some games to stop members of the general public/opposition fans from buying tickets) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stmusicdude Posted 25 June, 2011 Share Posted 25 June, 2011 It wouldn't even wash its own face. It would raise nowhere near 25OK. It would be expensive to administer and you need to factor in opportunity costs. For example, some cuurent purchasers of season tickets might downgrade to mere membership and end up attending less games and handing over less money as a result. The scheme being proposed was for a 50 fee attached to a 40 discount. The club only clears a tenner per member. The admin costs are likely to be higher than this - but even if you assume that the cost would only be £5 per person to administer, you would need to sign up 50,000 members to make your suggested 250K profit. That simply isn't going to happen. There are, in practice, only a small number of fans a membership scheme would appeal to. A very high proportion of hardcore fans are already season ticket holders. Those who aren't are almost all able to get to all the games they want to go without the slightest problem (generally only home games). Those who are hardcore, but not season ticket holders, can often join a group like the London Saints Supporters Club who can help with tickets. So, those who are likely to see any real benefit in a membership scheme are nowhere near 50,000. Not 10,000. Possibly not even 1,000. And at this point, the income from a membership scheme probably doesn't even cover the administrative set-up costs, let alone the on running servicing costs. The 250K figure is just a fantasy number you've plucked out of the air. Running a scheme would cost the club money in the NPC. IF it's going to cost £5 per person to administrate they need to sack the people administrating it & your figure they not plucked out of air then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintBobby Posted 25 June, 2011 Share Posted 25 June, 2011 IF it's going to cost £5 per person to administrate they need to sack the people administrating it & your figure they not plucked out of air then? Well, I've worked for organisations that run membership schemes for about 16 years. The administartive costs - even when organised highly efficient - are high. You need to factor in staff time and overheads too. The actual cost to a company of sending a letter is nearly always more than a pound. Most membership organisations with many more than 1K members will have a full time staff member working largely on the membership database. In Saints' case, you'd also need to make the job of the ticket sales staff a tad more complicated. And you'd need to put in procedures to prevent fraud (casual fans buying a ticket on a mate's membership account to swell his loyalty points). You'd also need some procedure to resolve disputes (a member complaining that he'd definitely only used his discount rights seven times and the database was wrong). You can assume the real cost of staff time is £10 per hour for even a minimum wage worker. £20+ for moderately more qualified staff. I don't know how many years of experience you have running membership systems. But if you can point to any membership organisation in the UK that runs at less than £5 a member (discounting those run on a purely voluntary basis, where the human resource cost is zero), I'd be delighetd to hear about it. Party political memberships costs anywhere from £10-£20 a year to administer, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodds Posted 26 June, 2011 Share Posted 26 June, 2011 Used to have a membership and thought they were good but don't really need it now. If there's ever a high demand for a game then the club just needs to start taking into account how many games you have been to and give you priority over other people who have been to less games. Just going on the 'database' is pointless as pretty much everyone is on it now! This would mean making sure you use your customer number each time you buy a ticket. Simple and fair!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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