BBC Radio Solent Saints fans forum 7th August

[Matthew Le God]

 

[beatlesaint]

No mention of Capt. Jack this year. Maybe discretion has been applied here?

[hypochondriac]

Says not available for tickets. 

[davefizzy14]

Yeah it's saying not available for tickets, if there an issue with the ticketing link?

[hypochondriac]

Working now. 

[davefizzy14]

21 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Working now. 

Yeah 👍

[Secret Site Agent]

Ive got my tickets and my question ready.

 

I’ve been a Southampton FC fan for more than 40 years, and in that time, the club has become more than just a team to me — it's a part of who I am. Supporting Saints isn’t always easy, but that’s what makes it so special. It's not about chasing trophies or jumping on bandwagons. It’s about loyalty, resilience, and the pride that comes with sticking by your club through every twist and turn.

From the days at The Dell to the move to St Mary’s, I’ve watched the club grow and evolve, while always holding onto its soul. I’ve seen legends like Le Tissier light up the pitch, witnessed last-gasp relegation escapes, emotional promotions, heartbreaking relegations, and cup runs that brought a city together. I’ve celebrated unforgettable wins and sat through painful losses — but never once considered walking away.

Being a Saints fan means believing in youth, in passion, in fighting above your weight. It’s about supporting a club that represents our city with pride — a club that nurtures talent, plays with heart, and keeps going, no matter what. There’s a unique grit to Southampton, and that spirit flows from the stands to the players and back again.

Over three decades, the faces on the pitch have changed, but the feeling I get every time I see those red and white stripes hasn’t. It’s about more than football — it’s identity, it’s community, it’s history. Win or lose, I’ll always be proud to be part of the Southampton family.

Once a Saint, always a Saint.

 

My question is this.

 

Can we have Meat and Potato pies in the foyer?

 

 

This is how you act at these things, right?

[Badger]

2 minutes ago, Secret Site Agent said:

Ive got my tickets and my question ready.

 

I’ve been a Southampton FC fan for more than 40 years, and in that time, the club has become more than just a team to me — it's a part of who I am. Supporting Saints isn’t always easy, but that’s what makes it so special. It's not about chasing trophies or jumping on bandwagons. It’s about loyalty, resilience, and the pride that comes with sticking by your club through every twist and turn.

From the days at The Dell to the move to St Mary’s, I’ve watched the club grow and evolve, while always holding onto its soul. I’ve seen legends like Le Tissier light up the pitch, witnessed last-gasp relegation escapes, emotional promotions, heartbreaking relegations, and cup runs that brought a city together. I’ve celebrated unforgettable wins and sat through painful losses — but never once considered walking away.

Being a Saints fan means believing in youth, in passion, in fighting above your weight. It’s about supporting a club that represents our city with pride — a club that nurtures talent, plays with heart, and keeps going, no matter what. There’s a unique grit to Southampton, and that spirit flows from the stands to the players and back again.

Over three decades, the faces on the pitch have changed, but the feeling I get every time I see those red and white stripes hasn’t. It’s about more than football — it’s identity, it’s community, it’s history. Win or lose, I’ll always be proud to be part of the Southampton family.

Once a Saint, always a Saint.

 

My question is this.

 

Can we have Meat and Potato pies in the foyer?

 

 

This is how you act at these things, right?

Don't forget:

Ask about the women's team, and how Still can energise Saints on the back of  the Lionesses (?) success

How can we embrace more diversity, and be more welcoming to away fans especially

Give the panel opportunity to tell us how great Bazunu is and they wouldn't swap him for any other keeper in the history of Association Football.

 

[bpsaint]

Someone please ask who sanctioned the new contract for Stephens, and how they decided his poor performances were worthy of such a reward?

[Convict Colony]

Just make sure that we spend a lot of time talking about the ladies team and how we can make st Mary's more welcoming for opposition fans

[BarberSaint]

22 minutes ago, Secret Site Agent said:

Ive got my tickets and my question ready.

 

I’ve been a Southampton FC fan for more than 40 years, and in that time, the club has become more than just a team to me — it's a part of who I am. Supporting Saints isn’t always easy, but that’s what makes it so special. It's not about chasing trophies or jumping on bandwagons. It’s about loyalty, resilience, and the pride that comes with sticking by your club through every twist and turn.

From the days at The Dell to the move to St Mary’s, I’ve watched the club grow and evolve, while always holding onto its soul. I’ve seen legends like Le Tissier light up the pitch, witnessed last-gasp relegation escapes, emotional promotions, heartbreaking relegations, and cup runs that brought a city together. I’ve celebrated unforgettable wins and sat through painful losses — but never once considered walking away.

Being a Saints fan means believing in youth, in passion, in fighting above your weight. It’s about supporting a club that represents our city with pride — a club that nurtures talent, plays with heart, and keeps going, no matter what. There’s a unique grit to Southampton, and that spirit flows from the stands to the players and back again.

Over three decades, the faces on the pitch have changed, but the feeling I get every time I see those red and white stripes hasn’t. It’s about more than football — it’s identity, it’s community, it’s history. Win or lose, I’ll always be proud to be part of the Southampton family.

Once a Saint, always a Saint.

 

My question is this.

 

Can we have Meat and Potato pies in the foyer?

 

 

This is how you act at these things, right?

Good answer, but the monologue needs to be about fifteen times longer  and you have to ask if  the opposition can be gifted chances to make them feel loved.

[Convict Colony]

Also someone smell still, gingers apparently smell like foxes piss so I would like this fact checked 

[trousers]

Assume it'll only be an hour long as usual, which is far too short, given all the pre-amble and waffle.

[ErwinK1961]

Questions that should be asked;

- Why a 3 year extension for Stephens

- Will you be signing a new number 1 GK

- Is Dragan’s legal case with United Group effecting the club in anyway financially or otherwise 

- Are you planning to keep any of our worthwhile players, or can we expect all of Fernandes, Ramsdale, Dibling and THB to leave 

- Will the glaring lack of competent wide players / creative midfielders be addressed before Wrexham, or are we going to hamstring ourselves by not getting our squad sorted until mid to late September

Questions that will actually get asked

- Why aren’t you throwing money at the women’s team

- can we put padded seats in the away fans section

- “I’ve supported Saints for 65 years etc etc…. Why can’t I get free parking on match days”

- Why aren’t we expanding the stadium

 

[Fabrice29]

14 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Questions that should be asked;

- Why a 3 year extension for Stephens

- Will you be signing a new number 1 GK

- Is Dragan’s legal case with United Group effecting the club in anyway financially or otherwise 

- Are you planning to keep any of our worthwhile players, or can we expect all of Fernandes, Ramsdale, Dibling and THB to leave 

- Will the glaring lack of competent wide players / creative midfielders be addressed before Wrexham, or are we going to hamstring ourselves by not getting our squad sorted until mid to late September

Questions that will actually get asked

- Why aren’t you throwing money at the women’s team

- can we put padded seats in the away fans section

- “I’ve supported Saints for 65 years etc etc…. Why can’t I get free parking on match days”

- Why aren’t we expanding the stadium

 

Get a ticket and you can ask those questions, no?

[EBS1980]

I know not the most pressing question but would be good to know why we don’t have stripes on back of shirts, it looks miles better with them 

[bpsaint]

With Season Tickets sales up on 23/24 and a waiting list open with match tickets naturally harder to come by, why are we giving away fans 3000 tickets, a thousand more than we have to which gives them an unnecessary numerical and vocal boost?

[trousers]

Question for Spors: When interviewed in May you said of the summer transfer window: "Like every football club, we try to keep our best players". How's that going?

[Matthew Le God]

3 minutes ago, trousers said:

Question for Spors: When interviewed in May you said of the summer transfer window: "Like every football club, we try to keep our best players". How's that going?

Not many of them gone so far. Plus he didn't say it would be easy.

[Badger]

7 minutes ago, bpsaint said:

With Season Tickets sales up on 23/24 and a waiting list open with match tickets naturally harder to come by, why are we giving away fans 3000 tickets, a thousand more than we have to which gives them an unnecessary numerical and vocal boost?

Good question.

I’d also add that with the waiting list how far advanced are the proposals for stadium expansion and when will it be ready ?

Is it time to dust off the plans for the ‘Cortese Dome’ ? 

[Katalinic]

At least 30 mins of this will be taken up by Blackmore talking too much. In reality it will be about 8 pre-vetted questions.  

[trousers]

6 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Not many of them gone so far. Plus he didn't say it would be easy.

My question doesn't presume otherwise.

[Badger]

15 minutes ago, trousers said:

Question for Spors: 

Are you Martin Semmens in disguise ? 

[Badger]

Has it been said who will be on the panel ?

 

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, Badger said:

Has it been said who will be on the panel ?

 

The article in the opening post of this thread says Still, Spors and Parsons.

[Badger]

1 minute ago, Matthew Le God said:

The article in the opening post of this thread says Still, Spors and Parsons.

Thanks. 

[ErwinK1961]

37 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

Get a ticket and you can ask those questions, no?

Great idea, because they definitely let anyone ask a question and certainly don’t pre-vet them before hand. No sir

[Fabrice29]

10 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Great idea, because they definitely let anyone ask a question and certainly don’t pre-vet them before hand. No sir

Some twitter numpty stood up and waved around an online petition of some sort at one a few years back didn't he? I'm sure that was pre-approved.🙄

How about you get a ticket and then stand up and make a scene because your question was vetted. Or how about you don't get a ticket and continue to criticise people who do get tickets asking questions they want to ask. 

Edited 23 hours ago by Fabrice29

[ErwinK1961]

21 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

Some twitter numpty stood up and waved around an online petition of some sort at one a few years back didn't he? I'm sure that was pre-approved.🙄

How about you get a ticket and then stand up and make a scene because your question was vetted. Or how about you don't get a ticket and continue to criticise people who do get tickets asking questions they want to ask. 

You could get one too, then you could talk about how much you miss Russell?

[Fabrice29]

3 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

You could get one too, then you could talk about how much you miss Russell?

Or maybe I just wont get upset at someone daring to ask about the womens team.

[Willo of Whiteley]

What kind of questions should be asked but 100% won’t be?

 

[ErwinK1961]

10 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

Or maybe I just wont get upset at someone daring to ask about the womens team.

Who’s getting upset? 

[saint michael]

2 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

Just make sure that we spend a lot of time talking about the ladies team and how we can make st Mary's more welcoming for opposition fans

I think we solved that one last year about the away fans. Give them a great day out and 3 points and we are doing our best this year by extending Jacks contract and by putting Bazuna back in goal

Edited 22 hours ago by saint michael

[ant]

1 hour ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Great idea, because they definitely let anyone ask a question and certainly don’t pre-vet them before hand. No sir

No, they don't. 

For the one that occurred during the Nathan Jones 'era', I managed to pull together a group chat of around 1/3 of the confirmed attendees.

Partially to make sure that we were lining up pertinent questions; partially with the intention that if it wasn't a truly open session we'd kick up a fuss.

There were whispers of the club editing down the footage to remove the harshest dissenting voices, so I took audio of the entire thing.

As it happened, most of those from the group that wanted to ask a question were able to.

We may not have liked all of the answers, but nobody was passed over, dodged or ignored.

[BarberSaint]

20 minutes ago, ant said:

No, they don't. 

For the one that occurred during the Nathan Jones 'era', I managed to pull together a group chat of around 1/3 of the confirmed attendees.

Partially to make sure that we were lining up pertinent questions; partially with the intention that if it wasn't a truly open session we'd kick up a fuss.

There were whispers of the club editing down the footage to remove the harshest dissenting voices, so I took audio of the entire thing.

As it happened, most of those from the group that wanted to ask a question were able to.

We may not have liked all of the answers, but nobody was passed over, dodged or ignored.

Can you do it again and up the numbers to 2/3?

[ErwinK1961]

8 hours ago, ant said:

No, they don't. 

For the one that occurred during the Nathan Jones 'era', I managed to pull together a group chat of around 1/3 of the confirmed attendees.

Partially to make sure that we were lining up pertinent questions; partially with the intention that if it wasn't a truly open session we'd kick up a fuss.

There were whispers of the club editing down the footage to remove the harshest dissenting voices, so I took audio of the entire thing.

As it happened, most of those from the group that wanted to ask a question were able to.

We may not have liked all of the answers, but nobody was passed over, dodged or ignored.

Wasn’t that forum ‘behind closed doors’ that wasn’t broadcast on Solent and only a select 100 fans got to attend? Bit different.

[ant]

21 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Wasn’t that forum ‘behind closed doors’ that wasn’t broadcast on Solent and only a select 100 fans got to attend? Bit different.

The stipulations on attendance were near identical.

[ErwinK1961]

28 minutes ago, ant said:

The stipulations on attendance were near identical.

Wasn’t broadcast to the masses though was it.

[tdmickey3]

10 hours ago, ErwinK1961 said:

You could get one too, then you could talk about how much you miss Russell?

He will be crying at the first mention of him

[gio1saints]

12 hours ago, Katalinic said:

At least 30 mins of this will be taken up by Blackmore talking too much. In reality it will be about 8 pre-vetted questions.  

The questions are not pre vetted. But Blackmore does go in a bit too much that’s true. 
Ive got my ticket. I’m going to think hard on what to ask this time around. We got the Brighton match and possibly some transfers to come in or out between now and then but It will be a direct Q to Will Still I’m sure. And not one in which he can give a vague answer or a yes/no. 
PS. You lot moaning about what questions will or will not be asked. If you care so much why don’t you turn up and ask your Question? And if you can’t be bothered why bitch about what others have asked? 
When I go yes I squirm at the beer questions etc but at least those people with their SFC beer interests are participating. It’s like having a pop at the government but you never bothered to vote. 

Edited 11 hours ago by gio1saints

[Saint Fan CaM]

It’s a pretty pointless exercise really, aimed at giving a few numpties the chance for a day out, to feel important and voice their opinions to a largely indifferent panel. Whatever is said will have no bearing on any policy, procedure or performance.

Hopefully there’ll be fewer leading questions - the ones that get on my goat such as, “just how excited were you to see Downs score his first Saints goal?” or “just how pleased were you with the reception at the Spanish training camp?” or “just how determined are you to hit the ground running this season?”. And similar utter bollox.

[gio1saints]

19 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

It’s a pretty pointless exercise really, aimed at giving a few numpties the chance for a day out, to feel important and voice their opinions to a largely indifferent panel. Whatever is said will have no bearing on any policy, procedure or performance.

Hopefully there’ll be fewer leading questions - the ones that get on my goat such as, “just how excited were you to see Downs score his first Saints goal?” or “just how pleased were you with the reception at the Spanish training camp?” or “just how determined are you to hit the ground running this season?”. And similar utter bollox.

And if saints don’t do it presumably you will be one of the first on here complaining that they “ don’t listen” to fans. 
I agree it’s largely a PR exercise in being seen to listen and being open with supporters. I also agree that nothing said will change playing policy - nor Beer policy😵‍💫. BUT for those that want to get some insight into what our new Manager is really like it’s a great opportunity to ask him a direct question with a follow up. I will go to watch and listen intently to his response (s) and hence to make up my own mind about the measure of the man. 

Edited 11 hours ago by gio1saints

[trousers]

1 minute ago, gio1saints said:

And if saints don’t do it presumably you will be one of the first on here complaining that they “ don’t listen” to fans. 
I agree it’s largely a PR exercise in being seen to listen and being open with supporters. I also agree that nothing said will change playing policy nor Beer policy. BUT for those that want to get some insight into what our new Mabager is like it’s a great opportunity to ask him a direct question with a follow up. I will go to watch and listen to his response (s) and hence to make up my own mind about the measure of the man. 

I'm going to run a sweepstake on the number of times Still says "it's interesting"  

[gio1saints]

5 minutes ago, trousers said:

I'm going to run a sweepstake on the number of times Still says "it's interesting"  

I think that’s a good point. Well spotted @trousers. His regular use of that term has many potential interpretations but in general, given the context, given his detailed body language and my assessment of voice tone pitch volume etc I think in summary it means “ it was bad”. A lot of what he’s seen “ is bad” and certainly must “ improve”. That’s my current analysis. Will let you know more after I interrogate him on the 6th at the do. 

Edited 11 hours ago by gio1saints

[trousers]

10 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Will let you know more after I interrogate him on the 6th at the do. 

7th...

[gio1saints]

3 minutes ago, trousers said:

7th...

oops

[Colinjb]

41 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

The questions are not pre vetted. But Blackmore does go in a bit too much that’s true. 
Ive got my ticket. I’m going to think hard on what to ask this time around. We got the Brighton match and possibly some transfers to come in or out between now and then but It will be a direct Q to Will Still I’m sure. And not one in which he can give a vague answer or a yes/no. 
PS. You lot moaning about what questions will or will not be asked. If you care so much why don’t you turn up and ask your Question? And if you can’t be bothered why bitch about what others have asked? 
When I go yes I squirm at the beer questions etc but at least those people with their SFC beer interests are participating. It’s like having a pop at the government but you never bothered to vote. 

The Jack Stephens question, It must be.

[gio1saints]

8 minutes ago, Colinjb said:

The Jack Stephens question, It must be.

Before I even consider asking that one What do you think the answer might be? You need to think about what JS might say -( he will be there) as you get one chance at a follow up. Am i genuinely asking him for information or am I asking to make a cheap dig at the club Captain in front of a few hundred people? I can almost give you word for word what both Still and Jack might say when I ask “why 3yrs?”  so the follow up better be good else I’ve learned nothing. 

Edited 11 hours ago by gio1saints
Freudian slip Hack for Jack lol

[Killers Knee]

Can the u14 team self identify as professional women footballers so we guarantee at least none promotion?

[Fabrice29]

42 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Before I even consider asking that one What do you think the answer might be? You need to think about what JS might say -( he will be there) as you get one chance at a follow up. Am i genuinely asking him for information or am I asking to make a cheap dig at the club Captain in front of a few hundred people? I can almost give you word for word what both Still and Jack might say when I ask “why 3yrs?”  so the follow up better be good else I’ve learned nothing. 

Don't think Stephens will be there in fairness. Not that I disagree with your view of what you'll get back.