In recent years staffing cuts at the Daily Echo have meant that increasingly they have relied on what are essentially letters from readers to be published as news stories on their website, but today's offering hit an all time low.
The headline "READER LETTER (sic) What Is Wrong With Saints" seemed to promise a tirade against the club's transfer policy and perhaps a rant about Saturday's defeat against Borussia Monchengladbach, but the reader who sent the letter Jeff Easter from Bassett was more concerned about the communication or not he receives from the club.
"Why is the only contact the club has with it's season ticket holders, is the call for renewals.
There has been absolutely no contact at all this close season, nothing to tell ST holders that the pre-season friendlies were free , if you got them before 9th July!
Nothing about transfers, either in or out, in fact NOTHING, full stop.
You do realise it doesn't actually cost anything to send an e-mail. Surely you must have a data-base of all ST/members e-mail addresses.
I've had far too much going on in my life this summer to be chasing around web sites looking for information, that, in the greater scheme of things isn't really very important, start being pre-emptive, just think about the good-will you would generate with the fans, for nothing, if you told them stuff.
Incidentally, with only 12 days to go before the first game when are the season tickets being delivered?
again no information.
It really is about time the club started treating it's fans with a little more respect and a little less contempt!"
Jeff Easter
Bassett, Southampton
Now although i agree with Mr Easter about about the fact that the club does lack communication with its fans, what he is claiming is not my experience.
A look in my trash box confirmed that I had received e mails about all the events he was claiming that he hadn't, about the pre season friendly tickets, each new signing including a competition to win a signed shirt, about when tickets where going on sale for home and away matches and about pre match previews and post match reports.
Indeed Mr Easter seems to have been stitched up by the paper when he mentions that with 12 days to go there where no sign of season tickets being delivered, presumably his letter to the Echo was sent a week ago, because season ticket's were delivered through most doors by Friday or Saturday.
Sadly although I can sympathise with Mr Easter who may for some reason not be receiving these e mails, the fact is the club are sending them and this summer have been making stringent efforts to communicate with the supporters far more than they have ever done in the past with the formation of a supporters council and a fans forum to be held and also being broadcast.
But the biggest culprit here is the Daily Echo who have printed a readers letter and clearly made no effort to check the facts behind his claims !
There are some good journalists at the Daily Echo still, sadly many more have been made redundant leaving a small staff who are struggling to come, shockingly given the size of the paper's circulation area and the fact they are covering a Premier League football team a National League team in Eastleigh and a first class County Cricket Club in Hampshire, not to mention a raft of other sports, with clubs and individuals at all levels they no longer even employ a sports editor, the previous one being made redundant at the end of last year.
Much of the sub editing isn't even done at it's offices in Southampton but from a main office in South Wales by people who have absolutely no knowledge of this area.
What this means is the coverage is often sub standard and too often stories like this are put up on their website to fill content, but all they actually do is spread misinformation and put it forward as the truth.
I don't blame Mr Easter, but if he is unhappy with the club why did he not e mail them directly with his concerns rather than contact the Echo who have now made him look a little foolish in his claims, indeed if I can check out his claims and find them to be untrue in less than a minute why can't the Echo.
All this piece did was stir up some fans a little bit more, half the replies on the Echo website ignored the content of the article but just had a good moan at the club for other things, the other half confirmed they had been receiving all the e mails ok.
The Daily Echo used to be a help to Southampton Football Club, now it seems to be part of the problem we have at present with a negative vibe surrounding the club and making even the most trivial issue an opportunity to berate the club, this has to stop, we have to create positivity and look forward not backwards.