The Fab FAB

[Turkish]

i thought they deserved their own thread given the chatter on here recently. It'll also help so that when our fabulous Fan Advisory Board look on this forum, which i'm sure they do as they're so well engaged as the voice of the fans, they can have safe, clear space to join in the discussion and read the feedback from the largest and most popular Saints forum.

I notice that there are no spaces on the FAB at the moment so none of us can join to help out but we do have direct access to the FAB on the contact us page.

https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/fan-advisory-board

We can also use this thread to thank them for all their efforts and recognise their achievements. 

I would like to personally thank them for raising the self/pre pouring drinks issues, the issues with the app push notifications the fact that the WIFI doesn't remember you, this can only help take the match day experience from very good to exceptional.

Edited 10 hours ago by Turkish

[Appy]

They did really well to beat all the other candidates and get the role, proper democracy. 

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, Appy said:

They did really well to beat all the other candidates and get the role, proper democracy. 

i would advise you to keep checking the website for vacancies, then it'll be down to the public vote. You cant get any more democratic. 

We're not taking applications at the moment. We work on a rotational basis and any vacancies will be advertised on our website. Interested parties will be invited to apply and Fan Advisory Board members will review applicatations. A shortlist will be voted for by our current Season Ticket Holders and those holding Official Membership with the club.

[EssEffCee]

I've got some email correspondence with them I need to share here, didn't bother last week as was part of the skate match thread.

Will do it later this afternoon.

[Turkish]

Just now, EssEffCee said:

I've got some email correspondence with them I need to share here, didn't bother last week as was part of the skate match thread.

Will do it later this afternoon.

👍

That's what they're there for 

You can get in touch with the panel, ask questions, provide feedback and add items for discussion to the agenda via contacting the following email address:

southampton.fc.fab@gmail.com

[EssEffCee]

Just now, Turkish said:

i would advise you to keep checking the website for vacancies, then it'll be down to the public vote. You cant get any more democratic. 

We're not taking applications at the moment. We work on a rotational basis and any vacancies will be advertised on our website. Interested parties will be invited to apply and Fan Advisory Board members will review applicatations. A shortlist will be voted for by our current Season Ticket Holders and those holding Official Membership with the club.

At a meeting last summer it was suggested by someone present (not a current FAB member) that they didn't think a public vote was necessary.

[Turkish]

6 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

At a meeting last summer it was suggested by someone present (not a current FAB member) that they didn't think a public vote was necessary.

Yes you're right, it was GB (whoever that is) that suggested it. Good news, means it's not skewed by popularity so people cant just get their mates to vote for them. It'll be on merit and someone that can add something. The fact that the FAB will vet applicants is a very good idea. 

 

*GB suggested FAB to vet anyone who joins, does not believe a public vote is necessary

[Osvaldorama]

Not sure what’s more useful, the FAB or the CoT 

[tdmickey3]

[rallyboy]

Are they still all being chauffeur-driving around in that bespoke pink Rolls Royce with the personalised plate?

[Turkish]

36 minutes ago, Osvaldorama said:

Not sure what’s more useful, the FAB or the CoT 

Two very different organisations with two very different raison d’etres. One was on the player trading side of the business bringing Saints fans pre-breaking transfer news the other deals with the important issues like pre-poured drinks. One thing they have in common is neither did it for their own benefit, it’s for the Saints fan base. 

[Chez]

2 hours ago, Turkish said:

Yes you're right, it was GB (whoever that is) that suggested it. Good news, means it's not skewed by popularity so people cant just get their mates to vote for them. It'll be on merit and someone that can add something. The fact that the FAB will vet applicants is a very good idea. 

 

*GB suggested FAB to vet anyone who joins, does not believe a public vote is necessary

GB is Greg Baker - Chief revenue officer
https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/meet-the-saints-leadership-team

[Wade Garrett]

Think we should have an Advisory Board of Fans (ABF).

Fans Advisory Board, splitters.

[EssEffCee]

So my initial email to FAB was on 14th January, stating that I'd looked through meeting notes and seen that the FAB were supportive of the clubs proposals for the bubble and asking following questions about it:

Quote

Could I ask you to confirm what consultation was done with the wider fanbase around this? On the club's official website it states that one of the FAB's purposes is to "Consult with various areas of our fanbase and share insights / feedback with the club" so I would be interested to know what these areas were and what feedback was provided.

 

I also have the following questions regarding this matter:

 

- The quote above from Michael Sadler mentions "proposed plans from SFC", can you confirm whether the decision to bubble this fixture was enforced by the police or whether it was pushed for by SFC/PFC?

 

- At what stage was it communicated that fans would have to arrive at St Mary's much earlier than in 2011/12? Was any wider fanbase consultation done relating this specific element or any opposition raised?

 

- Has the FAB raised any concerns that we are having to pay more for our coaches than Portsmouth fans paid in September? (£18.50)

I also in the same email asked about the FAB new membership process:

Quote

The line I am particularly interested in is the comment from “GB”, stating that they do not believe a public vote is necessary for new members. This appears to contradict the club’s official website, which states that “a shortlist will be voted for by our current Season Ticket Holders and Official Members” (screenshot attached).  

 

Furthermore, the minutes later state that 3 members would not continue beyond Christmas, which suggests changes could have happened since this meeting and no vote has gone out to wider fanbase.

 

Regarding FAB membership please can you confirm:

 

- The full new membership process of the FAB

 

- Why the club's official website seems to have inaccurate information relating to this.

 

- How the FAB feels it can represent the wider fanbase if said wider fanbase has no influence who is on the panel.

 

Received the following response on 18th January:

Quote

Thank you for your email. As there are a number of points, I will break the response into 2 parts, the first relating to the Pompey fixture, and the second to membership.

 

You make reference to the minutes of the June meeting. We have had a further full meeting with the club since, at which the Pompey fixture was discussed further. Those minutes are agreed, and should be posted on the website by now- I have chased the club about this, but add comments from that meeting as appropriate. 

 

The third meeting about the fixture came at the end of July, at Police HQ in Netley. This was led by the police, and attended by representatives of both clubs, and by a number of fans from both teams. In our case, that included 3 FAB members, and 5 other Saints fans invited by the club, including Nick Illingworth, from the FSA and the Ugly Inside.

 

It has been clear to us that the preparations for both matches have been led by Hampshire Police, not by either club or their fan groups. Our role as fans has been to challenge, question, offer alternative options, and mitigate issues where possible, and at the very least ensure that the police and clubs are aware of how this all effects supporters. I think in reality that fans have not been successful in changing these plans, though we have made clear a number of negative impacts, some of which you cover in your email. One of the main reasons why the away game arrangements so closely mimic those at St Mary’s is the police view that from a fan behaviour and safety point of view, including arrests, the game at St Mary’s was the most successful in their experience over many years. 

 

FAB members are situated in every part of the stadium, and ever since it became clear that the Pompey fixture would be happening, we have been discussing likely arrangements, and fan views. As more information has become available, these discussions have become more specific, and certainly since the August discussions, which as noted also had other Saints fans in attendance. 

 

Once it became clear that the police wished for the fixture to be ‘bubbled’ (though they did not use that term), and that the games were likely to kick off at noon, we tried to point out the inconvenience of early departure from St Mary’s, having only a single departure point, the lack of public transport early in the day, parking not being offered at the ground, and other related issues, but as noted above, whilst this had initially been noted for the Fratton fixture, to be discussed after the St Mary’s game, the ‘success’ of that fixture from the police point of view meant that they sought to replicate the plan, and these issues didn’t get much traction.

 

We were pleased that we managed to get more tickets at Fratton than Pompey got at St Mary’s (the Pompey fans were not pleased about this at the August meeting, especially as ST holders would have to move), though this again had more to do with the ease of policing a whole end at Fratton.

 

In terms of cost, the clubs have agreed that the combined cost of coach and ticket should be the same for both sets of fans, so as our tickets for Fratton are cheaper than we charged their fans at St Mary’s, the difference has been added to the coach costs.

 

I’m afraid that from my point of view, for this fixture, the police considerations have outweighed the football match to such a large extent that a lot of fans feel it is not worthwhile going, and I agree that turning up at 7.30am for a midday kick off 23 miles away is not reasonable. However, having been to many Saints v Pompey games in the past, I do understand the desire of Hampshire Police and the clubs to minimise risk- the balance has, in my view, perhaps swung too far now

I hope this helps to explain the background to some of the key decisions.

I then replied on 19th January including the following (left some general guff out which doesn't directly relate to issues raised etc):

Quote

 I'm not sure your comments regarding us having a bigger allocation and the cost being for away fans are true. As far as has been announced publicly the allocation was for away fans at each fixture was 2700. Cost wise we paid £35 for ticket and £20 for coach totalling £55, whilst they paid £40 and £18.50 totalling £58.50.

 

It's really disappointing that the club have failed to post minutes on the website for so long. Whilst this isn't a personal attack on yourself or your fellow members, I'd go as far as saying this discredits the legitimacy of the FAB as being the communication between club and the wider fanbase if correspondence isn't promptly made available, and I hope that this point is being emphasised to the club.

 

Regarding the July meeting led by police, did the club advise on how the additional supporters were chosen by the club? Was it at random or well known supporters as in the case of Nick? If this wasn't communicated then I'd argue the lack of transparency suggests the club would be likely to pick people who they know well and they don't expect to ask difficult questions.

 

You say your gaining of feedback from the wider fanbase largely consisted of conversations at St Marys by FAB members who sit all around the ground. With respect this comes across as rather vague and in my view lacks any real substance to be used effectively as feedback.

 

Would it not be better to conduct surveys of season ticket holders and/or high attending away fans so you could present accurate numbers of specific concerns/support relating to the measures? This would offer something more tangible for the club/police to respond to and I would hope this is considered if the fixture is played next season.

 

I'm not sure I understand the argument from the police about coaches leaving so early because the September fixture was so successful. As I recall the two games in 2011/12 went off without incident so I struggle to see the justification for such an early start which didn't happen then. It would be good to hear any further clarification on this if you have any though I appreciate you may not at this point.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to respond to my points raised and I agree that it's sensible to split up my questions surrounding this and those surrounding FAB membership. Could you advise on when you will be responding to the latter?

 

Apologies for poor grammar, not my strongest point 🤣

 

I received a reply a couple of hours after I sent that from a different FAB member stating that what the previous person meant by us receiving a bigger allocation was that we got a bigger percentage of the ground. They didn't respond to any of the other points.

I also never did get a further email from them answering my questions about new membership process for FAB.

Probably quite boring for most but thought worth sharing as some may find it interesting, think it largely confirms what a lot of us knew in that the FAB doesn't really offer any true representation of the wider fanbase.

[Turkish]

9 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

So my initial email to FAB was on 14th January, stating that I'd looked through meeting notes and seen that the FAB were supportive of the clubs proposals for the bubble and asking following questions about it:

I also in the same email asked about the FAB new membership process:

 

Received the following response on 18th January:

I then replied on 19th January including the following (left some general guff out which doesn't directly relate to issues raised etc):

Apologies for poor grammar, not my strongest point 🤣

 

I received a reply a couple of hours after I sent that from a different FAB member stating that what the previous person meant by us receiving a bigger allocation was that we got a bigger percentage of the ground. They didn't respond to any of the other points.

I also never did get a further email from them answering my questions about new membership process for FAB.

Probably quite boring for most but thought worth sharing as some may find it interesting, think it largely confirms what a lot of us knew in that the FAB doesn't really offer any true representation of the wider fanbase.

What do you mean? They asked to opinions of the people who sit next to them at St Marys!!

There must be members who post on here, if so they've now got this thread as a space that we can engage directly with them.

Edited 6 hours ago by Turkish

[franniesTache]

29 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

So my initial email to FAB was on 14th January, stating that I'd looked through meeting notes and seen that the FAB were supportive of the clubs proposals for the bubble and asking following questions about it:

I also in the same email asked about the FAB new membership process:

 

Received the following response on 18th January:

I then replied on 19th January including the following (left some general guff out which doesn't directly relate to issues raised etc):

Apologies for poor grammar, not my strongest point 🤣

 

I received a reply a couple of hours after I sent that from a different FAB member stating that what the previous person meant by us receiving a bigger allocation was that we got a bigger percentage of the ground. They didn't respond to any of the other points.

I also never did get a further email from them answering my questions about new membership process for FAB.

Probably quite boring for most but thought worth sharing as some may find it interesting, think it largely confirms what a lot of us knew in that the FAB doesn't really offer any true representation of the wider fanbase.

Thanks for that, a friend of mine also emailed them and got an almost identical reply from them, including the patronising bollocks about them being all round the ground.

The most annoying part to all this is that if the fans groups do work together the bubble can be cancelled, as has been proven in virtually every other derby around the country, but we end up with a bunch of wet blankets who've been picked because they watch the women's team that most of us don't give a shit about.

I personally have absolutely no doubt that if it happens again next season it'll be a bubble again, and given how shit our FAB are i think the only way we could get it stopped would be to boycott the game.

The impact of empty away ends at both games would be huge, especially given the press coverage on them, but sadly i can't see enough people willing to make that effort from either side

[Willo of Whiteley]

When do they next sit down with Johannes Spors and question the appointment of Tonda Eckhart when he was “definitely not being considered”?

[EssEffCee]

24 minutes ago, franniesTache said:

Thanks for that, a friend of mine also emailed them and got an almost identical reply from them, including the patronising bollocks about them being all round the ground.

The most annoying part to all this is that if the fans groups do work together the bubble can be cancelled, as has been proven in virtually every other derby around the country, but we end up with a bunch of wet blankets who've been picked because they watch the women's team that most of us don't give a shit about.

I personally have absolutely no doubt that if it happens again next season it'll be a bubble again, and given how shit our FAB are i think the only way we could get it stopped would be to boycott the game.

The impact of empty away ends at both games would be huge, especially given the press coverage on them, but sadly i can't see enough people willing to make that effort from either side

Even a partial boycott would have an impact I think, a thousand empty seats in an away end for a local derby would get a lot of media interest.

Problem is it would only work if people were still prepared to pay for the seats they're not using as otherwise other people will take them.

The other option is to publicly arrange a visit to a pub on Portsea Island to watch the game, give the old bill something else to think about and stretch their resources.

[EssEffCee]

53 minutes ago, Turkish said:

What do you mean? They asked to opinions of the people who sit next to them at St Marys!!

There must be members who post on here, if so they've now got this thread as a space that we can engage directly with them.

Properly anecdotal that stadium thing, easy to get across the feeling of widespread support when there's no structure to it.

[franniesTache]

1 hour ago, EssEffCee said:

Even a partial boycott would have an impact I think, a thousand empty seats in an away end for a local derby would get a lot of media interest.

Problem is it would only work if people were still prepared to pay for the seats they're not using as otherwise other people will take them.

The other option is to publicly arrange a visit to a pub on Portsea Island to watch the game, give the old bill something else to think about and stretch their resources.

If you could get organised and buy a block behind each goal that was intentionally left empty that would definitely have a huge impact, though there's probably no way of policing it in the ground and people would just move into the gap sadly.

The other option is to go, but then all walk out as soon as the whistle for kick off is blown, and just stay in the area out the back of the stand instead.

In Europe they'd probably do one of those massive banners to cover the seats, which would be impressive, but we're not that kind of club and to be honest i always find them a bit try hard.

One other thing that does need to happen is for fans to engage with the press and express their disgust at the bubble. Minor issue there is that you'd have more strength doing it with representation from both clubs, and i for one don't want to be seen with those cunts 🤣

[Holmes_and_Watson]

1 hour ago, EssEffCee said:

Properly anecdotal that stadium thing, easy to get across the feeling of widespread support when there's no structure to it.

It's not as though the F.A.B. members can't be easily spotted, for a chat, what with marionette strings above them.

Fan Advisory Board is Go!

[Turkish]

3 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

It's not as though the F.A.B. members can't be easily spotted, for a chat, what with marionette strings above them.

Fan Advisory Board is Go!

Marionette strings are dangerous things

i thought of all the trouble it brings……