Will the Le Tissier touch ignite the Club

One thing is for sure, any football club needs to have a strong fan base in order for it to prosper, OK if you have a rich foreign owner it can help you puch above your true weight as the likes of Fulham have proved, but its all built on sand unless you have a solid supporter base.

Saints will of course have as big a potential base as anyone in the division with the exception of Leeds Utd, however will that base return and support the club.

Of course there were many reasons given by estranged supporters for their non regular attendance, however most of those are largely redundant now, Lowe has gone, our high paid underperforming players will be off the books and its a new era, so just how many will return ?

A friend of mine suggested last night that with Matt Le tissier involved it will galvanise the supporters and that there could  be as many as 25,000 in the ground when the team kicks off next year, I feel that is slightly optimistic, however if Saints can start with 17-18,000 that will give them a distinct advantage financially on most of the division, and I feel that crowds could grow steadily if Saints challenge for promotion.

To back this I would point to when Lowe ddeparrted in 2006, the new dawn then saw little change in the crowds for that season, even though Wilde was seen as the saviour for the first half of it, however Matt le tissier is a different story and his involvement could encourage a lot of supporters to return to the fold.

What Saints do have the opportunity to do though is put in firm foundations and they have to be built on big crowds that bring in revenue and the knock on effects.    

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