Message to the FAB if they read this

[Pamplemousse]

As it is the choice of the clubs, the cost for the bubble coaches should be borne from them.

I don't live in Southampton so I have to spend money to travel down and then another £20/30 quid on a coach I don't want and don't need. 

I think it would easy to manage it tbh. Close the same roads off as they normally would and have a sterile area that the police can manage to separate the fans.

Edited 9 hours ago by Pamplemousse

[hypochondriac]

As much as people moan and as much as it is a pain, the bubble actually works and is effective. You can bet if it wasn't in place there would be a lot more disorder. 

[Saint_clark]

2 hours ago, franniesTache said:

And there's core. of the issue, "some fans prefer". Well yes, and some fans don't. But we're not forcing those that do prefer it to go by train, they can still go by coach. The fact is the bubble is draconian, and they don't need to patronisingly remind us "why it's needed", when loads went in 2019 and can quite clearly see it isn't needed.

We're not talking about Alan Knight's testimonial here - which is now almost 35 years ago if you want to feel old - times have changed massively, and it's draconian nonsense to suggest it's needed, especially as the facts in terms of arrests simply don't back it up.

When we ask the FAB to push back that's what we mean, don't just say you disagree push back on the narrative that the fans just need to "be reminded", push back on them driving the narrative, and challenge them on the arrests and stats that show what they're saying is b*llocks.

If you're just accepting their view you're not independent

Apart from anything else if they're going to stick with the bubble, there's absolutely no reason to bring kickoff forward to 12:00 other than to try and limit how much fans can enjoy the time before the game. Why the need to reduce drinking time if there is no chance of fans interacting anyway.

[benjii]

12 hours ago, Mboto Gorge said:

All a big dick swinging contest

And that's just the women!

[franniesTache]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

As much as people moan and as much as it is a pain, the bubble actually works and is effective. You can bet if it wasn't in place there would be a lot more disorder. 

Can you though?

2019 away at Fratton was a night game without bubble, 7 people were arrested for disorder.

2025 away at Fratton was a Sunday lunch time kick off with the bubble, 8 people were arrested for disorder.

2012 home at st mary's without a bubble, 5 arrests

2026 home at st mary's with a bubble, 4 arrests

The idea that there's significantly more disorder without a bubble is literally just marketing for the police so they can impose it. Also the games without a coach bubble are effectively bubble's these days anyway because you're kettled from the station to the ground and side roads are shut off so there's no contact. Which is no different to shutting roads off for coaches and having outriders (and still a heavy police presence in the cities too).

We are one of only two left in the country that have it, and we're supposed to believe we're that unique? It's utter bollocks, a good pay day for Hampshire old bill on the over time, and if i was being a real cynic it's a good way for both clubs to get additional revenue because away fans are forced to spend money at the grounds because they're trapped there for hours before

Edited 7 hours ago by franniesTache

[hypochondriac]

14 minutes ago, franniesTache said:

Can you though?

2019 away at Fratton was a night game without bubble, 7 people were arrested for disorder.

2025 away at Fratton was a Sunday lunch time kick off with the bubble, 8 people were arrested for disorder.

2012 home at st mary's without a bubble, 5 arrests

2026 home at st mary's with a bubble, 4 arrests

The idea that there's significantly more disorder without a bubble is literally just marketing for the police so they can impose it. Also the games without a coach bubble are effectively bubble's these days anyway because you're kettled from the station to the ground and side roads are shut off so there's no contact. Which is no different to shutting roads off for coaches and having outriders (and still a heavy police presence in the cities too).

We are one of only two left in the country that have it, and we're supposed to believe we're that unique? It's utter bollocks, a good pay day for Hampshire old bill on the over time, and if i was being a real cynic it's a good way for both clubs to get additional revenue because away fans are forced to spend money at the grounds because they're trapped there for hours before

I remember the derby game outside St Marys after the game when people were lobbing coins, using hub caps from the car showroom as frisbees and trying to break through the fencing segregating the teams. I wish people weren't absolute twats but the reality is it stops this kind of idiotic behaviour. 

[EssEffCee]

28 minutes ago, franniesTache said:

Can you though?

2019 away at Fratton was a night game without bubble, 7 people were arrested for disorder.

2025 away at Fratton was a Sunday lunch time kick off with the bubble, 8 people were arrested for disorder.

2012 home at st mary's without a bubble, 5 arrests

2026 home at st mary's with a bubble, 4 arrests

The idea that there's significantly more disorder without a bubble is literally just marketing for the police so they can impose it. Also the games without a coach bubble are effectively bubble's these days anyway because you're kettled from the station to the ground and side roads are shut off so there's no contact. Which is no different to shutting roads off for coaches and having outriders (and still a heavy police presence in the cities too).

We are one of only two left in the country that have it, and we're supposed to believe we're that unique? It's utter bollocks, a good pay day for Hampshire old bill on the over time, and if i was being a real cynic it's a good way for both clubs to get additional revenue because away fans are forced to spend money at the grounds because they're trapped there for hours before

Agree with your general point but the St Mary's game in 2012 was a bubble as that was the first season of it.

[EssEffCee]

13 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I remember the derby game outside St Marys after the game when people were lobbing coins, using hub caps from the car showroom as frisbees and trying to break through the fencing segregating the teams. I wish people weren't absolute twats but the reality is it stops this kind of idiotic behaviour. 

Well it doesn't stop that behaviour. People tried pulling fences down on Sunday and at Fratton in January there were loads of missiles being lobbed back and forth.

[AlexLaw76]

surely a bubble massively reduces the level of policing required outside of the game (ie, to/from the stadiums)

[hypochondriac]

Just now, EssEffCee said:

Well it doesn't stop that behaviour. People tried pulling fences down on Sunday and at Fratton in January there were loads of missiles being lobbed back and forth.

I haven't seen anything like that behaviour since the bubble was introduced. Certainly not on that scale. It clearly makes a difference. I'd rather not have the bubble but to pretend it doesn't do anything because you don't like it is silly. 

[hypochondriac]

2 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

surely a bubble massively reduces the level of policing required outside of the game (ie, to/from the stadiums)

It also reduces loads of potential flashpoints to and from the train station (like outside the stadium near a car showroom for instance.)

[EssEffCee]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

I haven't seen anything like that behaviour since the bubble was introduced. Certainly not on that scale. It clearly makes a difference. I'd rather not have the bubble but to pretend it doesn't do anything because you don't like it is silly. 

I'm not pretending it doesn't do anything. You specified an incident which involved missile throwing and getting at fences saying it stops that behaviour when both of those things have literally happened in 2026.

It definitely does the job in terms of its aims of keeping fans apart outside the ground, don't think anyone disputes that.

The point is whether that's a proportionate (or even fair) thing to do relative to the amount of trouble there is without it. I and many others say it's not.

[EssEffCee]

8 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

surely a bubble massively reduces the level of policing required outside of the game (ie, to/from the stadiums)

Probably is cheaper but they still get the horses, helicopter, riot gear etc out.

They just mostly have a big jelly instead of doing anything.

[whelk]

Police were filming the Giddy Bridge at 9 in the morning. Fuck knows what they thought was going to happen

[whelk]

They need to just put a City warning like they do when loads of cruise ships in. Stay away women and children and let them all come in on the train  for some fun

[Patrick Bateman]

7 minutes ago, whelk said:

Police were filming the Giddy Bridge at 9 in the morning. Fuck knows what they thought was going to happen

Dodgy pint?

Overly hard sausage and bacon that have been left under on the hot plate too long? 

[hypochondriac]

8 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

I'm not pretending it doesn't do anything. You specified an incident which involved missile throwing and getting at fences saying it stops that behaviour when both of those things have literally happened in 2026.

It definitely does the job in terms of its aims of keeping fans apart outside the ground, don't think anyone disputes that.

The point is whether that's a proportionate (or even fair) thing to do relative to the amount of trouble there is without it. I and many others say it's not.

It does stop that behaviour on the scale that we saw previously. Additionally there is much less risk than previously when they had to kettle them from the station and all the potential for disorder we saw there. Anyone who witnessed that pathetic behaviour from both sets of fans after one of the derbies would agree that since the introduction of the bubble bus there has been no repeat of that behaviour on that scale. It's undeniable.

[franniesTache]

29 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I remember the derby game outside St Marys after the game when people were lobbing coins, using hub caps from the car showroom as frisbees and trying to break through the fencing segregating the teams. I wish people weren't absolute twats but the reality is it stops this kind of idiotic behaviour. 

That was one game over 20 years ago, i've done almost every game since the early 90's, and that's really the exception, both at Fratton and in Southampton, hell at the first one i went to in 96 there wasn't even a kettle from the station for the skates and there was zero arrests and they sat down in the away end.

For some reason in recent years the media, our fans, their fans and social media have decided it's akin to the belgrade derby or boca juniors/river plate, the vast majority of the time (since the 80s/very early 90s) nothing happens beyond a bit of shouting and posturing.

The "wide scale disorder" the police and media talk about simply isn't true.

16 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

Agree with your general point but the St Mary's game in 2012 was a bubble as that was the first season of it.

You're right, that's my memory playing tricks. Well how about 2003 league cup? Night game no bubble, there wasn't even a segregation fence at the northam end only a line of police and people still walked between each. There were no arrests in that one.

[RedArmy]

21 minutes ago, franniesTache said:

 

You're right, that's my memory playing tricks. Well how about 2003 league cup? Night game no bubble, there wasn't even a segregation fence at the northam end only a line of police and people still walked between each. There were no arrests in that one.

There definitely were. 
 

That night traumatised some of them for life. 
 

 

[Willo of Whiteley]

8 hours ago, St Louis said:

I come in peace 😁....

The first meeting was held on the 30th Sept (there will be 4 a year) and it came just 2 weeks after we were formed and 1 week after roles were assigned. So to be transparent, many of the agenda points were carried over from the previous groups last meeting.
The meeting was 2 hours, and the first hour was predominantly an introduction to how things work and also an intro to the individuals in attendance. Many of the senior execs from the club were in attendance and they naturally wanted to discuss some of the points around their roles (ticketing, safety, commercial, etc).
It's important to say that the FAB is anything but a mouthpiece for the club, we are not club employees (even on a voluntary basis) and they want us to manage things 100% independently and bring the topics to them that the fanbase want to discuss, and absolutely do not choose what we discuss.

Bubble/Safety:
The heads of operations, ticketing and security naturally wanted to talk about the Pompey bubble as the game was coming up. As you can see in the minutes it was asked 'if its really necessary as there hasnt been trouble in a while' and it definitely wasnt being pushed by all of the FAB that its a good thing, so it was challenged. But from a policing and club POV you can see why they (and their Pompey counterparts) feel its been a success. FWIW, personally I did raise that I dont like it and that I havent been to Fratton since and that it's lost some of its atmosphere because of the bubble. But I also understand that some fans prefer it and that the club executive who is responsible for fan safety has done their job in making it safer, and why they feel it's likely to continue. But we felt it would be a good idea to reiterate to the fans as to the reasons why they do it.
They then discussed safety and policing around other games and how they assess risk, and Boro was brought up as a game that they will look at a little differently this season (understandably) but it was never raised that a bubble or anything out of the ordinary is needed for those fixtures (I can see people already trying to suggest that online), but just that they will likely have more stewards/policing for example and work with Boro in how best to manage it if they feel there is added risk.
It was also asked how it's been going with the Family section being next to the away fans. It was just a question in the natural flow of a conversation, and as the minutes state, it was mitigated that all is good and no plans to change that. Some in the room felt (and had had wider feedback from fans) that it took away from the atmosphere by having families/kids so close to the away support and how good it was previously in the Itchen corner and at The Dell, to have a more vociferous group by the away section. Just because a topic gets discussed, it doesnt mean the FAB as a group are necessarily For or Against it. For example, the FAB werent pushing for the Pompey bubble, asking for added security for Boro or asking for the family section to be moved, they are just agenda points that were discussed, with all views shared, from us as individuals and from the senior execs at the club.

Just on a few other points from the minutes....

Water Stations:
The club discussed how the stadium is 25 years old now and needs some improvements (even to things like the plumbing!) and it was discussed about adding more water stations in concourses, and someone raised that when they do that, maybe dont put another one right between the toilet entrance and exits, as its impossible to use when the toilet queues are around at halftime. It was just a natural conversation, and a valid point, not something that was seen as a priority by any means. But everything discussed will get added to minutes.

Shirt Sales/Sizes:
We heard from the CRO around shirt sales, and how the 3rd shirt has sold out, but Home and Away shirts are still available, and a FAB member asked if more Women's sizes could be made available too, as never enough available. It wasnt that deep, just someone's personal POV, and I think we will see things like that also discussed and noted in minutes.

Stadium Tour:
The club feel it would be useful for us to see all stands/concourses of the stadium (not just the area we regularly sit) to better understand the layout and logistics, and how things might differ in each stand. Things were being discussed, that I didnt even know existed in other areas for example. 

Level 1 Launch Invite:
I assume that was just a joke, as wasnt discussed or raised.

Trust me, the new FAB fully appreciate that improvements need to be made and that it just didnt work previously and wider fans weren't consulted well enough or considered (the club wholeheartedly agreed). We want to be more visible and we want to bring more feedback. It wasn't a group of nodding heads in the meeting, it was really constructive, and I'm really excited to see what we can bring to the table and what positive changes can be made in future, based on supporter feedback.

So I would ask that you give us a bit of a chance and a run-up to the next one (late Nov / early Dec), where we will have time to source feedback from the wider fanbase for future agenda points to discuss (we have lots of plans in place for that). I've been working with the club in getting a feedback form added to the club website where we can collect the thoughts and concerns of the fans, and we can then collate that, look for themes and take some of it forward into meetings. Personally, I've already attended EFL/FSA meetings and discussed ticket pricing, etc and was able to hear what other clubs do and how we can be more competitive and what initiatives their FAB groups have initiated. We are also discussing having a drop-in hub at the stadium for some games, so we can chat in-person to the wider fanbase and collect more feedback to share with the club. We honestly dont want this to be about just those of us on the board, we genuinely want to represent the entire fanbase as best we can.

I will share the central feedback form on here as soon as its live, and all I can do is ask that anyone who has any thoughts or feedback that they genuinely want discussed, to fill out the form. We have hundreds of thousands of fans, so we want to be able to identify common themes and then take them into meetings. The biggest thing we need to get right is gathering views beyond the people sitting around that table.

I have also messaged @stevegrant on here to ask if we can have a Thread dedicated to FAB discussions and where we can share the form to gather your feedback, and I can share some of the things that are happening and being implemented, etc. So hopefully I can then give the SaintsWeb more of a voice in our meetings.

Good write up, thank you 💪🏻💪🏻

[hypochondriac]

24 minutes ago, franniesTache said:

That was one game over 20 years ago, i've done almost every game since the early 90's, and that's really the exception, both at Fratton and in Southampton, hell at the first one i went to in 96 there wasn't even a kettle from the station for the skates and there was zero arrests and they sat down in the away end.

For some reason in recent years the media, our fans, their fans and social media have decided it's akin to the belgrade derby or boca juniors/river plate, the vast majority of the time (since the 80s/very early 90s) nothing happens beyond a bit of shouting and posturing.

The "wide scale disorder" the police and media talk about simply isn't true.

You're right, that's my memory playing tricks. Well how about 2003 league cup? Night game no bubble, there wasn't even a segregation fence at the northam end only a line of police and people still walked between each. There were no arrests in that one.

How many games have we actually had against them since then? Hardly any. 

[Gloucester Saint]

26 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

There definitely were. 
 

That night traumatised some of them for life. 
 

 

16 official ones but a proper confrontation at the Joiners.

Was described at the time as one of Hampshire’s biggest ever policing operations https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5582315.a-night-of-highs/#

This was before the trouble at the 2010 FA Cup game.

I’m not suggesting it justifies the bubbles, I don’t like them, but the idea that 2003 just passed off with a few missiles and banter doesn’t tally with a lot of people’s memories. The league game not long after was more like that but then the skates smashed up their own city after they won 1-0 in the spring. 

Edited 6 hours ago by Gloucester Saint

[St Louis]

Some really interesting feedback already in this thread, so thank you. It is a voluntary position which is fulfilled around the day job, so apologies that I cant just come on here or social channels and respond directly to every post.

The good news is that the FAB Feedback Form is now live on the club website, so supporters can share their views directly with the Fan Advisory Board (nobody at Southampton FC will see any of the feedback, it comes directly to us):

https://www.southamptonfc.com/fab-feedback

Suggestions, concerns and positive feedback are all welcome - whether about ticketing, matchday experience, communication, merchandise or anything else you’d like us to raise with the club.

We will be using this as our central source for collating feedback (trying to collect from multiple places: social media, forums, chat down the pub, etc would be tricky to manage and use), so by collecting it in one place, we can start to recognise themes, which we can then take into meetings with the club.

We hope that this will help shape our discussions and priorities in future meetings, so please get involved 🙂

Enjoy the game tonight! 🤞

[LGTL]

Aside from the bubble being completely unnecessary (it’s exceptionally easy to mind out the way of trouble. All this protecting families is just nonsense), it annoys me almost more that the KO is still Sunday at Midday. Surely if we are putting up with the bubble, both games can be Saturday 3pm. There’s no logical reason to have it at ridiculous times if we can’t even bloody see them. 

At the moment, the clubs and OB are having all their cake and eating it. 2019 worked perfectly because kids and old dears could still go on bubble coaches, and those that wanted to get the train and have a few beers could do that too. 

[hypochondriac]

2 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

Apart from anything else if they're going to stick with the bubble, there's absolutely no reason to bring kickoff forward to 12:00 other than to try and limit how much fans can enjoy the time before the game. Why the need to reduce drinking time if there is no chance of fans interacting anyway.

Agree with that. 12 is a shit time for a game.

[St Louis]

18 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Aside from the bubble being completely unnecessary (it’s exceptionally easy to mind out the way of trouble. All this protecting families is just nonsense), it annoys me almost more that the KO is still Sunday at Midday. Surely if we are putting up with the bubble, both games can be Saturday 3pm. There’s no logical reason to have it at ridiculous times if we can’t even bloody see them. 

Stick it in the form 😊 

[EssEffCee]

57 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

16 official ones but a proper confrontation at the Joiners.

Was described at the time as one of Hampshire’s biggest ever policing operations https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5582315.a-night-of-highs/#

This was before the trouble at the 2010 FA Cup game.

I’m not suggesting it justifies the bubbles, I don’t like them, but the idea that 2003 just passed off with a few missiles and banter doesn’t tally with a lot of people’s memories. The league game not long after was more like that but then the skates smashed up their own city after they won 1-0 in the spring. 

Funny how that game with 16 arrests and problems on St Mary's Street was described as fairly peaceful but the 2019 game has been described as 'major disorder'.

Never mind those of us who went who know for a fact it wasn't major disorder. That's the line they've given and we apparently have to accept it.

Edited 5 hours ago by EssEffCee

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, EssEffCee said:

Funny how that game with 16 arrests and problems on St Mary's Street was described as fairly peaceful but the 2019 game has been described as 'major disorder'.

Never mind those of us who went who know for a fact it wasn't major disorder. That's the line they've given and we apparently have to accept it.

The bench marks for largely peaceful have been set. BLM protests over 200 arrests = largely peaceful. Notting Hill carnival over 600 arrests = celebration of our culture. i'd say anything between 600 and 1000 arrests and we're in just kids having fun territory.