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Saints Aid


Marsdinho
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Yeah, you dont want people being out of pocket when all they are trying to do is help out Saints.

 

Maybe they misunderstood what event woud have appealed to fans.

but it shouldnt have mattered, even if it was charity dung collecting the fans I would have thought gone and done something.

It was pitiful and embarrassing to see such low numbers turn out.

I think we all were complacent that there would be a buyer and so didn't bother.

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but it shouldnt have mattered, even if it was charity dung collecting the fans I would have thought gone and done something.

It was pitiful and embarrassing to see such low numbers turn out.

I think we all were complacent that there would be a buyer and so didn't bother.

 

We were right though

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but it shouldnt have mattered, even if it was charity dung collecting the fans I would have thought gone and done something.

It was pitiful and embarrassing to see such low numbers turn out.

I think we all were complacent that there would be a buyer and so didn't bother.

 

NOt sure, I think it was a simple case of football/Saints fatigue.. a dreadful season, a decline in interests and culmunating in relegation and admin - The 'Perfect Storm' of a season. Couple this with the uncertain future and most fans already having donated what they could and it was probably bound to be a bit of a lame turnout - And to some extent having the same old guard rallying the troops was bound to put soe off as well... those that wanted a clean break from all those that had been part of the last 4 years..

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Maybe the organisers were wrong to assume that, becuase they like music (the local music scene) then all saints fans must surely like music as well.

 

Maybe fans were just not interested in watching local bands, or maybe they have musical tastes that dont include the Artful Dodger.

 

One thing we all do share is our love of football, maybe they should have gone down that route (a 5-a-side tournament held at SMS with the winners playing a team of ex-saints, for example)

 

Its all history now though i guess.

 

We have a bright new future, thats the main thing.

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We were right though

 

Speak for yourself, I got to see a load of local bands in one event, saved me loads on checking out who was decent at various pubs over the course of the next few months...

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Speak for yourself, I got to see a load of local bands in one event, saved me loads on checking out who was decent at various pubs over the course of the next few months...

 

I actually attended. If people wanted to go for that reason then fair enough. If they were going because they thought they were going to save the club then they were wrong.

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NOt sure' date=' I think it was a simple case of football/Saints fatigue.. a dreadful season, a decline in interests and culmunating in relegation and admin - The 'Perfect Storm' of a season. Couple this with the uncertain future and most fans already having donated what they could and it was probably bound to be a bit of a lame turnout - And to some extent having the same old guard rallying the troops was bound to put soe off as well... those that wanted a clean break from all those that had been part of the last 4 years..[/quote']

 

I certainly think there was a lot of charity fatigue, but it was pretty well publicised - and not just on the web, various local venues had posters up too.

 

I don't think the "old guard" rallying argument holds much water though, you need some people with experience in events and publicity surrounding Saints fans, and in addition to those there were plenty of genuine Saints fans who haven't had anything you could call "a media profile", as well as a lot who didn't have any involvement who did.

Edited by The9
Typo !
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Speak for yourself, I got to see a load of local bands in one event, saved me loads on checking out who was decent at various pubs over the course of the next few months...

 

I dont know if thats a good thing or bad thing.

 

Are you saying that you glad you went, because now you dont have to go out to pubs for the next few months.

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I actually attended. If people wanted to go for that reason then fair enough. If they were going because they thought they were going to save the club then they were wrong.

 

It was an opportunity to do a bit of both in my eyes, good set of local bands, interesting venue, chuck a few more quid into the abyss and hopefully help pay some of the day-to-day staff... the worrying thing to me was there were SO many people that just said "f'ck it" and tried to make out that it couldn't possibly achieve anything.

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I dont know if thats a good thing or bad thing.

 

Are you saying that you glad you went, because now you dont have to go out to pubs for the next few months.

 

I am glad I went, I'm also glad I'm not obliged to go to loads of local gigs when I'm skint, as I've got enough going on otherwise that I can't afford already, and it looks like I'll be getting another season ticket at some point now too, hopefully.

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Given the lack of support from our wonderful fans I hope they managed to cover costs. Lucky a lot of people volunteered really.

 

 

oooh shock horror, slag the fans of post!

 

out of the whole sorry miss that was SFC Plc the only people that actually put anything into the club was.............THE FANS!

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oooh shock horror, slag the fans of post!

 

out of the whole sorry miss that was SFC Plc the only people that actually put anything into the club was.............THE FANS!

 

I'm not slagging anyone who attended or those who went to the trouble of organising.

 

We have, however, shown ourselves as a whole to be a bunch of ingrates who don't know a good thing when they have it, and in a large number of cases aren't prepared to do anything to support it even when there's a chance it might not exist.

 

We should be grateful that SOME people are prepared to put in the effort on behalf of others, rather than just assuming someone else will sort it. I appreciate their efforts at trying to make it work and they should be commended for it - it's as ever far too easy for anonymous people to criticise the people who have actually made an effort whilst doing nothing themselves.

 

Speaking as someone who has already seen a club I supported go bust, maybe I'm a little more aware of the consequences than others.

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It was an opportunity to do a bit of both in my eyes, good set of local bands, interesting venue, chuck a few more quid into the abyss and hopefully help pay some of the day-to-day staff... the worrying thing to me was there were SO many people that just said "f'ck it" and tried to make out that it couldn't possibly achieve anything.

 

People will go because of the local bands and venues bit. The reason people will not have gone is because either they weren't interested in the bands available or they didn't believe any extra finance they had would ultimately save the club and that has proven to be the case.

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I didn't go to the Saints Aid gig, but I don't appreciate being told that I have done nothing to support the club. I've done plenty, thank you very much. There is only so much an 18 year old on minimum wage can do.

 

Which is what annoys me so much. It's all very good people organising all manner of things but then they can't expect everyone just to turn up just because they say they are doing their bit and that it is definitely going to save the club. I've gone above and beyond IMO last season and many others have too. To make sarcastic comments and suggest that the fans don't care is below the belt. When we get fantastic turn outs at games and when I see the people at Forest away I know how much people care.

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People will go because of the local bands and venues bit. The reason people will not have gone is because either they weren't interested in the bands available or they didn't believe any extra finance they had would ultimately save the club and that has proven to be the case.
I personally didnt think it was to save the club but to show solidarity with it.To show prospective buyers what they were getting.I found it sad that there were more people who found it in them to march against the chairman than actually go to try and save the club.The Saintsaid funday was only £5 and you got a lot of entertainment for that.
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I'm not slagging anyone who attended or those who went to the trouble of organising.

We have, however, shown ourselves as a whole to be a bunch of ingrates who don't know a good thing when they have it, and in a large number of cases aren't prepared to do anything to support it even when there's a chance it might not exist.

 

We should be grateful that SOME people are prepared to put in the effort on behalf of others, rather than just assuming someone else will sort it. I appreciate their efforts at trying to make it work and they should be commended for it - it's as ever far too easy for anonymous people to criticise the people who have actually made an effort whilst doing nothing themselves.

 

Speaking as someone who has already seen a club I supported go bust, maybe I'm a little more aware of the consequences than others.

 

Quite simply I disagree and it is an insult to the fans to say that. It's this attitude that I fundamentally disagree with. What other club has had to deal with what we have over the past five years? I think I'm going to organise a sponsored march, all proceeds to SFC. I'm going to advertise it a week before and if only a few people turn up I'm going to turn on the fans and suggest that it is their fault when SFC goes under. It doesn't work like that.

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I personally didnt think it was to save the club but to show solidarity with it.To show prospective buyers what they were getting.I found it sad that there were more people who found it in them to march against the chairman than actually go to try and save the club.The Saintsaid funday was only £5 and you got a lot of entertainment for that.

 

Well the low attendance as made little difference in the scheme of things so I suppose that's good.

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Which is what annoys me so much. It's all very good people organising all manner of things but then they can't expect everyone just to turn up just because they say they are doing their bit and that it is definitely going to save the club. I've gone above and beyond IMO last season and many others have too. To make sarcastic comments and suggest that the fans don't care is below the belt. When we get fantastic turn outs at games and when I see the people at Forest away I know how much people care.

 

I think a lot of people have, and they're beyond reproach. It's only the ones who haven't that are going to get upset by it.

 

And you're right, when we get fantastic turnouts I know how many people care - what was that drop in attendance last season again ? How many did we get to see Man U ? And all that again...

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Quite simply I disagree and it is an insult to the fans to say that. It's this attitude that I fundamentally disagree with. What other club has had to deal with what we have over the past five years? I think I'm going to organise a sponsored march, all proceeds to SFC. I'm going to advertise it a week before and if only a few people turn up I'm going to turn on the fans and suggest that it is their fault when SFC goes under. It doesn't work like that.

 

Plenty of fans have had to deal with administration, and at every club there are those who have done something about it, and those who haven't. We have a big steaming pile of people who have chosen to walk away and treat it like someone else's problem.

 

I'm not blaming the fans who went to matches, and I'm not blaming the fans who tried, nor criticising their methods (which others seem keen to do).

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What the fans that didn't go to the Saints Aid like me, or the fans that have held a season ticket for 20 years..............like me??

 

I don't think we have a pie chart that covers all of the groups quite yet - maybe my "Saints Politics" questionnaire idea from a few weeks back still has legs ? :D

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I think a lot of people have, and they're beyond reproach. It's only the ones who haven't that are going to get upset by it.

 

And you're right, when we get fantastic turnouts I know how many people care - what was that drop in attendance last season again ? How many did we get to see Man U ? And all that again...

 

Right firstly I am almost certain that many of the people who came to see ManU were not saints fans. Secondly EVERY SINGLE CLUB gets a significant drop in attendance if they get a prolonged time in the lower tier. It's a fact. Add to that the Lowe factor, the complete dross we have had to endure on the pitch for a number of season and you know all the other reasons FFS. 24 quid to watch that last season was a total joke. People point to Norwich but they have a board who listen to their fans and who price their tickets accordingly. The easy option is to blame the fans but it is just wrong. Not attending saints aid does not mean a supporter does not care, and that fact does not change just because you helped to organise it. Maybe some people believe that it was not as an important and significant even as you would have liked.

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Plenty of fans have had to deal with administration, and at every club there are those who have done something about it, and those who haven't. We have a big steaming pile of people who have chosen to walk away and treat it like someone else's problem.

 

I'm not blaming the fans who went to matches, and I'm not blaming the fans who tried, nor criticising their methods (which others seem keen to do).

 

I'm not criticising any method, I'm just suggesting that many of the methods were misguided in their belief that they were saving the saints. If people want to organise things then go ahead, but don't criticise and blame the fans if people don't support it.

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I'm not slagging anyone who attended or those who went to the trouble of organising.

 

We have, however, shown ourselves as a whole to be a bunch of ingrates who don't know a good thing when they have it, and in a large number of cases aren't prepared to do anything to support it even when there's a chance it might not exist.

 

We should be grateful that SOME people are prepared to put in the effort on behalf of others, rather than just assuming someone else will sort it. I appreciate their efforts at trying to make it work and they should be commended for it - it's as ever far too easy for anonymous people to criticise the people who have actually made an effort whilst doing nothing themselves.

 

Speaking as someone who has already seen a club I supported go bust, maybe I'm a little more aware of the consequences than others.

 

Not for 1 minute knocking any of the organisers of Saints aid, they had an idea, went with it and pulled it. The idea, event cost did not appeal to me, personally.

 

Price - For me, my wife and kid your talking £45, taxi there and back £24, beer and snacks £30-50, quite an expensive evening.

 

The venue - under the Itchen stand, again didn't appeal to me, if it had been on the pitch, in fact the whole day on the pitch, that would of been a lot more appealing to me.

 

As for not supporting the Saints.............that's why I buy a season ticket, to support the Saints.

 

And finally - waiting for someone else to rescue us. Well that's exactly what everyone has been waiting for. Even if 10k people went to Saints Aid they'd of only raised 150k not even enough for 1 months wages so we'd of still been waiting to be purchased. I understand what your going to say - that money would of given Fry more time - maybe it would, but surely if a deal couldn't be brokered by now then another month would of just delayed the inevitable!

 

All in my own opinion of course!

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I'm not criticising any method, I'm just suggesting that many of the methods were misguided in their belief that they were saving the saints. If people want to organise things then go ahead, but don't criticise and blame the fans if people don't support it.

 

Presumably then you also think the Save Our Saints campaigns in the Echo, Saints OS and any other outlets were "misguided", as none of them have done anything - even though all of them combined have probably helped the club's profile, and some of the interested parties in taking over the club attended some of the events ?

 

Really though I think all this debate boils down to is if people are personally comfortable with their contribution to the existence of the club over the past days, weeks, months and years. Anyone who isn't should be glad someone else has (hopefully) bailed Saints out so they get another chance to support however they see fit.

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Presumably then you also think the Save Our Saints campaigns in the Echo, Saints OS and any other outlets were "misguided", as none of them have done anything - even though all of them combined have probably helped the club's profile, and some of the interested parties in taking over the club attended some of the events ?

 

Really though I think all this debate boils down to is if people are personally comfortable with their contribution to the existence of the club over the past days, weeks, months and years. Anyone who isn't should be glad someone else has (hopefully) bailed Saints out so they get another chance to support however they see fit.

 

Either someone was going to buy us or they weren't. People criticise fans for just sitting around hoping someone saved us but that is precisely what we needed. Things had gone so far that we NEEDED someone to save us or we were gone.

 

I have already said I applaud the efforts of people trying to get people down for the last few games of the season. I also have no problem with people organising non football related activities but you have suggested that someone is somehow less of a fan if they choose not to go. Nick has gone as far as to suggest that the fans should take a significant portion of the blame if saints cease to exist. On both of these counts I srongly disagree and I'm a bit insulted that people are suggesting it.

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Right firstly I am almost certain that many of the people who came to see ManU were not saints fans. Secondly EVERY SINGLE CLUB gets a significant drop in attendance if they get a prolonged time in the lower tier. It's a fact. Add to that the Lowe factor, the complete dross we have had to endure on the pitch for a number of season and you know all the other reasons FFS. 24 quid to watch that last season was a total joke. People point to Norwich but they have a board who listen to their fans and who price their tickets accordingly. The easy option is to blame the fans but it is just wrong. Not attending saints aid does not mean a supporter does not care, and that fact does not change just because you helped to organise it. Maybe some people believe that it was not as an important and significant even as you would have liked.

 

There could well have been up to 20,000 Saints fans who only want to watch us play big Premier League teams there, only the club database could tell us that.

 

A Northam/Chapel ST worked out at £16.50 a game, that was alright even to watch the anticipated "kids in relegation battle" scenario (we didn't really get that either in the end). Eastleigh FC was £10, 4 divisions below and with crowds of a few hundred, I'm not sure how much cheaper it's supposed to be.

 

Not sure whether you meant specifically that I helped organise it, but I didn't have anything to do with it.

 

Equally, obviously with me having attended and 200,000 others off the membership list not having done so, I must have found something important to care about they didn't.

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Either someone was going to buy us or they weren't. People criticise fans for just sitting around hoping someone saved us but that is precisely what we needed. Things had gone so far that we NEEDED someone to save us or we were gone.

 

I have already said I applaud the efforts of people trying to get people down for the last few games of the season. I also have no problem with people organising non football related activities but you have suggested that someone is somehow less of a fan if they choose not to go. Nick has gone as far as to suggest that the fans should take a significant portion of the blame if saints cease to exist. On both of these counts I srongly disagree and I'm a bit insulted that people are suggesting it.

 

I think people showing that actually they basically just couldn't be arsed would have sent a worrying message to investors who would see the brand loyalty and inelastic demand of football supporters as major selling points of the business.

 

I'm not sure I'd blame the fans who went either.

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There could well have been up to 20,000 Saints fans who only want to watch us play big Premier League teams there, only the club database could tell us that.

 

A Northam/Chapel ST worked out at £16.50 a game, that was alright even to watch the anticipated "kids in relegation battle" scenario (we didn't really get that either in the end). Eastleigh FC was £10, 4 divisions below and with crowds of a few hundred, I'm not sure how much cheaper it's supposed to be.

 

 

We could debate about this all day. Suffice to say I believe that the tickets were overpriced for this season and more should have been done initially to encourage support. Price however is just one of a large number of factors for a drop in attendance. I have nowish to go through them all again as I am sure you are aware of them all.

 

Not sure whether you meant specifically that I helped organise it, but I didn't have anything to do with it.

 

Apologies I thought you were involved.

 

Equally, obviously with me having attended and 200,000 others off the membership list not having done so, I must have found something important to care about they didn't.

 

There are many reasons why people choose not to attend. In all honesty I considered not going a few times this season and I'm not sure I would have done had I already bought a season ticket at the start. In fact, if things had stayed as they were last season except we had got relegated with Lowe and Wilde still there, I think I wouldn't have got a season ticket either. Does that make me less of a fan? Maybe, but then I only have a certain amount of finance and my patience was running thin watching rubbish and the money would perhaps have been better spent elsewhere. Maybe some people have less patience than you or I?

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I think people showing that actually they basically just couldn't be arsed would have sent a worrying message to investors who would see the brand loyalty and inelastic demand of football supporters as major selling points of the business.

 

I'm not sure I'd blame the fans who went either.

 

I think fans realised that money was really tight at the moment and they were wondering how their money would actually make a difference. There were loads of posts on here asking exactly how much money was needed to be raised and how big the debt was and nobody knew. There was some scheme whereby money was going to be set aside for when it was needed and another where money was going to go directly into the club. I have very little idea what saints aid was raising money for or how much was needed. I think that was a huge problem and may explain one of the reasons for a small attendance.

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What about those that didnt attend as there was no info on who the money was going to? I didnt want to spend my cash to "save the Club" for it to go to BT or the players.

 

Yep that's what I just said. People weren't sure

 

A) Who they were helping

 

B) What they were helping and

 

C) If it would make any difference.

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Equally, obviously with me having attended and 200,000 others off the membership list not having done so, I must have found something important to care about they didn't.

 

 

But you have already stated that the music itself was a draw for you, that wasn't the case for a lot of people.

 

Take something you're not particulary into, I dunno, at a guess stamp collecting or something. Would you have gone to a Saints Aid Stamp Collecting show for £5? Be honest.

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my patience was running thin watching rubbish and the money would perhaps have been better spent elsewhere. Maybe some people have less patience than you or I?

 

Personally I decided in (very late) March '08 that I'd be stuck with whatever garbage we were going to churn out in 08/09, no doubt it'll be the same for me next season until I get into a position where I either can't afford to go or can't afford not to be somewhere else.

 

My waning commitment to the on-pitch product was reflected in only going to Swansea, Cardiff and Forest away (after the "easy" pre-season games), and I can completely see why people would not want to go if they hadn't already stumped up and wanted to see a winning team or glamorous opponents, but still not stepping up when the existence of the club is at stake, still nothing? Then I'm going to question it.

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But you have already stated that the music itself was a draw for you, that wasn't the case for a lot of people.

 

Take something you're not particulary into, I dunno, at a guess stamp collecting or something. Would you have gone to a Saints Aid Stamp Collecting show for £5? Be honest.

 

A fair question; I'd have probably thought they were being ridiculous given the lack of crossover audience. The branding and the fun day made it clear it was more than just bands (which were pretty diverse as it was) - and also I gave more than a fiver in change over a couple of occasions for absolutely nothing, and bought about 4 items of soon-expiring merchandise (grey kit mostly) just for the hell of it, so I might have just bought a ticket to Stamp Aid ™ and not gone. That there was a crossover suggests it wasn't that bad a plan...

 

I did at one point say I wouldn't chuck anything in the buckets because it was "pointless", then still did it anyway. It's not supposed to be a rational thought process, this football lark, is it?

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Personally I decided in (very late) March '08 that I'd be stuck with whatever garbage we were going to churn out in 08/09, no doubt it'll be the same for me next season until I get into a position where I either can't afford to go or can't afford not to be somewhere else.

 

My waning commitment to the on-pitch product was reflected in only going to Swansea, Cardiff and Forest away (after the "easy" pre-season games), and I can completely see why people would not want to go if they hadn't already stumped up and wanted to see a winning team or glamorous opponents, but still not stepping up when the existence of the club is at stake, still nothing? Then I'm going to question it.

 

We're going to have to agree to disagree with this one. The existence of the club was not at stake. Th existence of the club did not hinge on whether people turned up to things like saints Aid or not. It just didn't.

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A fair question; I'd have probably thought they were being ridiculous given the lack of crossover audience. The branding and the fun day made it clear it was more than just bands (which were pretty diverse as it was) - and also I gave more than a fiver in change over a couple of occasions for absolutely nothing, and bought about 4 items of soon-expiring merchandise (grey kit mostly) just for the hell of it, so I might have just bought a ticket to Stamp Aid ™ and not gone. That there was a crossover suggests it wasn't that bad a plan...

 

I did at one point say I wouldn't chuck anything in the buckets because it was "pointless", then still did it anyway. It's not supposed to be a rational thought process, this football lark, is it?

 

It is to some if they literally cannot afford to just bung spare change into a bucket.

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Totaly agree with you Nickh. I was lucky enough to play at Saints Aid and yes it was a dissapointing turnout but as a season ticket holder for 25 years plus it just felt good to do something to support the club. I dont have millions in the bank unfortunately so it was the one thing i could do and although we all new that financialy it wouldnt make a difference I think the aim was to show any potential buyers that the fans really do care.

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What about those that didnt attend as there was no info on who the money was going to? I didnt want to spend my cash to "save the Club" for it to go to BT or the players.

 

The Saints Aid website was quite clear IMHO. It said money would either go to help bail Saints out if no new owner was forthcoming OR go to local charities if a new owner came along.

 

Interesting that the message didn't seem to get across though

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A fair question; I'd have probably thought they were being ridiculous given the lack of crossover audience. The branding and the fun day made it clear it was more than just bands (which were pretty diverse as it was) - and also I gave more than a fiver in change over a couple of occasions for absolutely nothing, and bought about 4 items of soon-expiring merchandise (grey kit mostly) just for the hell of it, so I might have just bought a ticket to Stamp Aid ™ and not gone. That there was a crossover suggests it wasn't that bad a plan...

 

The stamp collecting was a silly analogy but I think you can at least see my point there, not everybody had the double whammy of helping the club AND wanting to see the bands, which I think was a factor.

 

I don't think it was a bad plan as such, just that by that point I think most people had given in some way or another without any real communication from the club as to how it was actually helping.

 

I know there was an article on the O/S after the first bucket collection which said thanks and we collected £8000... But despite so much effort that just seemed like such a tiny amount relative to what the club needed I think a lot of fans lost heart that anything we did would actually make a difference.

 

Just to add, fair play to all those who got involved though, I'm in no way trying to knock their efforts.

Edited by Barry the Badger
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