| Pride In The Club 10:08 - Jun 1 with 3846 views | SaintNick |
With the season ticket renewal date ending yesterday, why do so many fans of our club seem to boast about not renewing season tickets on social media ?
That should not be something to be proud of ?
It baffles me this is a genuine question, please dont say its because im not being entertained, Brighton were the least entertaining club at home, yet they still have a full house every week. |  |
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| Pride In The Club on 11:38 - Jun 1 with 2746 views | franniesTache |
I renewed, like i always do (this will be my 38th straight season of going to games), but i'm more and more tempted not to each year.
The reason why has very little to do with pride, i'm one of the most proud sotonians you can find and love the city massively.
It's because football, the premier league and everything it stands for is broken. Money has decimated the game, a handful of clubs are on financial steroids, the rise of the plastic/out of towner fans, the overseas numpties, the noddies in the ground singing sh*t unoriginal songs and engaging in "banter" towards the away/home fans, the kick off times moved every week, the stats nonces arguing about hypothetical goals scored and the god awful media, fawning over the big clubs, selling off the players of any other if they're good and condescending us at every opportunity.
Football used to be a release, a day out with my mates and family, it used to be a great laugh and even though we were mostly sh*t it was fun.
Now it's more sh*t than good, and it's expensive sh*t to boot. So i don't blame anyone for not renewing, and i don't doubt their pride in Southampton, they just don't want to be taken for mugs by businesses who'd replace them with tourists if we ever became successful. |  | | |
| Pride In The Club on 12:11 - Jun 1 with 2720 views | SaintNick |
| Pride In The Club on 11:38 - Jun 1 by franniesTache |
I renewed, like i always do (this will be my 38th straight season of going to games), but i'm more and more tempted not to each year.
The reason why has very little to do with pride, i'm one of the most proud sotonians you can find and love the city massively.
It's because football, the premier league and everything it stands for is broken. Money has decimated the game, a handful of clubs are on financial steroids, the rise of the plastic/out of towner fans, the overseas numpties, the noddies in the ground singing sh*t unoriginal songs and engaging in "banter" towards the away/home fans, the kick off times moved every week, the stats nonces arguing about hypothetical goals scored and the god awful media, fawning over the big clubs, selling off the players of any other if they're good and condescending us at every opportunity.
Football used to be a release, a day out with my mates and family, it used to be a great laugh and even though we were mostly sh*t it was fun.
Now it's more sh*t than good, and it's expensive sh*t to boot. So i don't blame anyone for not renewing, and i don't doubt their pride in Southampton, they just don't want to be taken for mugs by businesses who'd replace them with tourists if we ever became successful. |
You are right in what you say, but most of those not renewing or boasting they are not going to, do so not stating the demise of the game, but because we are not spending money to compete with the big boys and therefore in their eyes we are not ambitious.
It used to be a laugh because back then we all knew the situation and we enjoyed going to the game and the camaraderie.
Now it isn't a laugh because of those demanding success and continually blaming the club and certain individuals be they managers, players or the owner for not providing it.
For some it has become about hatred, there always has to be a scapegoat, 3 years ago JWP was getting a lot of stick, now its Redmond or Walcott who hasn't even been playing.
Also the hatred of Liverpool, for some hating Liverpool is even more important than Saints doing well.
The biggest threads on here since the seasons end, havent been about Saints they have been about Liverpool, some can't see any irony in that,
This thread is the lowest in terms of reads today, if I had put up something about Liverpool it would have had four times the page hits, some seem to have more pride in hating Liverpool than they do in Saints who they ridicule at every turn
This post has been edited by an administrator | |
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| Pride In The Club on 12:36 - Jun 1 with 2689 views | solent_toffee |
| Pride In The Club on 11:38 - Jun 1 by franniesTache |
I renewed, like i always do (this will be my 38th straight season of going to games), but i'm more and more tempted not to each year.
The reason why has very little to do with pride, i'm one of the most proud sotonians you can find and love the city massively.
It's because football, the premier league and everything it stands for is broken. Money has decimated the game, a handful of clubs are on financial steroids, the rise of the plastic/out of towner fans, the overseas numpties, the noddies in the ground singing sh*t unoriginal songs and engaging in "banter" towards the away/home fans, the kick off times moved every week, the stats nonces arguing about hypothetical goals scored and the god awful media, fawning over the big clubs, selling off the players of any other if they're good and condescending us at every opportunity.
Football used to be a release, a day out with my mates and family, it used to be a great laugh and even though we were mostly sh*t it was fun.
Now it's more sh*t than good, and it's expensive sh*t to boot. So i don't blame anyone for not renewing, and i don't doubt their pride in Southampton, they just don't want to be taken for mugs by businesses who'd replace them with tourists if we ever became successful. |
I agree with loads of your points there.
I’ve renewed for my season ticket out of habit and stubbornness in not giving in to the game that’s being stolen in front of genuine fans eyes. Going the game for me is an opportunity to go home for a few days, go out with my family and mates and see whatever mess Everton are in. Last season, Everton had five Saturday kick offs all season and only one since October and that was Leeds in Feb. The atmosphere at games isn’t great but what do you expect for a Saturday 12.30 kick off or a Sunday noon kick off. Everton played a few games on Thursday nights FFS,
The game isn’t for us, it’s for the tellyclappers in this country and beyond. Everton and Saints are mere bit part suckers for the Big 6. The media coverage is laughable. It will be interesting to see what happens with Newcastle this season as they will try to gatecrash it.
I will keep going though, I will be dammed if I throw in the towel although I can see why fans would. |  | | |
| Pride In The Club on 12:40 - Jun 1 with 2686 views | Bicester_North |
| Pride In The Club on 12:11 - Jun 1 by SaintNick |
You are right in what you say, but most of those not renewing or boasting they are not going to, do so not stating the demise of the game, but because we are not spending money to compete with the big boys and therefore in their eyes we are not ambitious.
It used to be a laugh because back then we all knew the situation and we enjoyed going to the game and the camaraderie.
Now it isn't a laugh because of those demanding success and continually blaming the club and certain individuals be they managers, players or the owner for not providing it.
For some it has become about hatred, there always has to be a scapegoat, 3 years ago JWP was getting a lot of stick, now its Redmond or Walcott who hasn't even been playing.
Also the hatred of Liverpool, for some hating Liverpool is even more important than Saints doing well.
The biggest threads on here since the seasons end, havent been about Saints they have been about Liverpool, some can't see any irony in that,
This thread is the lowest in terms of reads today, if I had put up something about Liverpool it would have had four times the page hits, some seem to have more pride in hating Liverpool than they do in Saints who they ridicule at every turn
This post has been edited by an administrator |
Seems like you’re the one who can’t get Liverpool out of your mind, thought that was a good post from FT about the state of PL football and you’ve gone on a Liverpool rant!
For me the issues are the same as FT mentioned- the corporate mainstream aspect and media crap, political point making, dickhead players who stop playing properly whenever they feel like it, has taken the fun out of it. Will always love Saints and want them to do well but it used to be much easier to support them when we often had a crap team but they gave it their best. | |
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| Pride In The Club on 12:45 - Jun 1 with 2673 views | saint901 |
I've had a ST for a number of seasons but with periodic breaks as family, work and financial pressures meant that I could not make full use of it.
Like many others here I'm also dismayed that the games get moved for TV, often to inconvenient times making it difficult to get to.
I live outside Southampton and driving in and parking is a lottery. Some says an hour, other days 3 hours. Getting out is usually worse. I've said before (and got shouted down) that the ground is in a bloody awkward place if you are not with public transport/walking distance.
The time needed to drive in etc means no time for a pre match beer either and so that aspect is missing for me. (I do have fond memories of The Pensioners before games at the Dell).
I agree with the comments above that the money in the game and the focus upon the "big 6" (perhaps 7 now that NUFC has money?) has ruined the PL for teams like us. We don't have the budget to attract players of sufficient quality to have a couple of good seasons in a row. Our academy has not been producing players like it used to and is unlikely to put two or three upcoming stars into our team together who could make a difference.
We have also suffered at the hands of indifferent ownership. Ms Leibherr and Mr Goa either had no real interest in the club or became subject to political pressures beyond their control meaning that alongside a reluctance to invest, the club was directionless and coasting or perhaps even declining in terms of ambition or any sort of plan.
Then we have the manager. I'm either delighted with RH when he pulls off a win or a result against a bigger club or frustrated when we play aimlessly against teams we should be beating. Last season we battered teams in the first half and scored not as many times as we should have, often having victory snatched from us late in the game. I love some of RHs' tactical plans. I consider him guilty of cowardice when we're getting a tonking and he disappears to the bench. I want him on the touchline at least trying to inspire his team.
I don't go to SMS to watch the opposition. I go to watch Saints. Too often last season I left the ground in a sour mood which is not good for me, my wife or Saints. I then have a 2 hours hack through traffic to get home.
I've supported the team since I was 6. I was on their training program for kids (briefly). I know personally some of the older players. My Dad supports them, my brother, my wife (her second team admittedly), my sons and my daughter.
But for me being able to pick and choose which matches suit me (rather than the money pulling the PL strings) is better than being at the mercy of people who frankly just don't care about me, Saints or perhaps any team outside the top 6. | | | |
| Pride In The Club on 12:54 - Jun 1 with 2666 views | Berber |
| Pride In The Club on 12:11 - Jun 1 by SaintNick |
You are right in what you say, but most of those not renewing or boasting they are not going to, do so not stating the demise of the game, but because we are not spending money to compete with the big boys and therefore in their eyes we are not ambitious.
It used to be a laugh because back then we all knew the situation and we enjoyed going to the game and the camaraderie.
Now it isn't a laugh because of those demanding success and continually blaming the club and certain individuals be they managers, players or the owner for not providing it.
For some it has become about hatred, there always has to be a scapegoat, 3 years ago JWP was getting a lot of stick, now its Redmond or Walcott who hasn't even been playing.
Also the hatred of Liverpool, for some hating Liverpool is even more important than Saints doing well.
The biggest threads on here since the seasons end, havent been about Saints they have been about Liverpool, some can't see any irony in that,
This thread is the lowest in terms of reads today, if I had put up something about Liverpool it would have had four times the page hits, some seem to have more pride in hating Liverpool than they do in Saints who they ridicule at every turn
This post has been edited by an administrator |
The irony is that when we started supporting footy clubs, and for most of the intervening time, football players earned maybe 10 times the average supporters wage. But we all knew they had until they were 30 to sort their financial futures out, before they became pub landlords. I think most people cut them some slack.
Now, they are set up financially after a year or two in the squad, let alone the team. They’ve got it all, but sometimes it doesn’t seem like they are doing much for the fans. Just look how many goal scorers head for the cameras, not ours to be fair. |  | | |
| Pride In The Club on 13:07 - Jun 1 with 2648 views | franniesTache |
| Pride In The Club on 12:11 - Jun 1 by SaintNick |
You are right in what you say, but most of those not renewing or boasting they are not going to, do so not stating the demise of the game, but because we are not spending money to compete with the big boys and therefore in their eyes we are not ambitious.
It used to be a laugh because back then we all knew the situation and we enjoyed going to the game and the camaraderie.
Now it isn't a laugh because of those demanding success and continually blaming the club and certain individuals be they managers, players or the owner for not providing it.
For some it has become about hatred, there always has to be a scapegoat, 3 years ago JWP was getting a lot of stick, now its Redmond or Walcott who hasn't even been playing.
Also the hatred of Liverpool, for some hating Liverpool is even more important than Saints doing well.
The biggest threads on here since the seasons end, havent been about Saints they have been about Liverpool, some can't see any irony in that,
This thread is the lowest in terms of reads today, if I had put up something about Liverpool it would have had four times the page hits, some seem to have more pride in hating Liverpool than they do in Saints who they ridicule at every turn
This post has been edited by an administrator |
Liverpool are hated for what they represent as much as anything, they sum up the big club bias, they stripped our best team in years of our good players, you come across more plastic liverpool fans than any other set in your day to day life.
The dins that speak about "we" who couldn't tell you where bootle or kirkdale are, who infest the phone ins and workplaces saying things like "scouse not english" (in london, danish or cornish accents), who stuff the pockets of sky and the media companies making them give more money and coverage to the big clubs are a cancer to the game.
Yeah people get annoyed by booing the national anthem and sh*t like that, but when push comes to shove most people hate liverpool because they represent the very worst of modern football. [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 13:07]
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| Pride In The Club on 13:31 - Jun 1 with 2616 views | Saintsforeverj |
| Pride In The Club on 13:07 - Jun 1 by franniesTache |
Liverpool are hated for what they represent as much as anything, they sum up the big club bias, they stripped our best team in years of our good players, you come across more plastic liverpool fans than any other set in your day to day life.
The dins that speak about "we" who couldn't tell you where bootle or kirkdale are, who infest the phone ins and workplaces saying things like "scouse not english" (in london, danish or cornish accents), who stuff the pockets of sky and the media companies making them give more money and coverage to the big clubs are a cancer to the game.
Yeah people get annoyed by booing the national anthem and sh*t like that, but when push comes to shove most people hate liverpool because they represent the very worst of modern football. [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 13:07]
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You are spot on Frannie. I have renewed but totally understand and agree with all your points. Nick needs to accept the truth and understand the hate of Liverpool and the reasons why people are fed up of football. It was Nick who mentioned the Brighton Kop. Amongst other things, it's a disgrace that LFC have pubs in other club's cities. It's only them, not other clubs. He knows the reasons they are hated and needs to stop his nauseating and annoying defence of them. That is also putting people off. They are one of the clubs destroying the game we all used to love and he defends them ???? You are right Frannie, the plastics walking through my city in Liverpool shirts are putting people off. It's like a disease destroying the game.
As for season tickets, there were plenty of games where there were empty seats at Brighton, terrible example. Plus they finished 9th didn't they and they have invested in their team. And fans want to see players fight fir the shirt. These spoilt players getting managers sacked, downing tools (not just here but at lots of clubs), strolling around the pitch when people have spent half of their wages on a ticket, is not good enough. I understand Nick's plea for fans t support the club, but get in the real world. It's expensive but the PL (and Saints) arn't giving anything back. Remember the Virgin media free away trips and free drink etc. It's all gone. So yes I have renewed, but totally understand peoples reasons for not. [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 13:52]
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| Pride In The Club on 13:50 - Jun 1 with 2591 views | Saintsforeverj |
| Pride In The Club on 12:54 - Jun 1 by Berber |
The irony is that when we started supporting footy clubs, and for most of the intervening time, football players earned maybe 10 times the average supporters wage. But we all knew they had until they were 30 to sort their financial futures out, before they became pub landlords. I think most people cut them some slack.
Now, they are set up financially after a year or two in the squad, let alone the team. They’ve got it all, but sometimes it doesn’t seem like they are doing much for the fans. Just look how many goal scorers head for the cameras, not ours to be fair. |
And Danny Ings for example. Local lad, supposedly a Saints fan, kisses the badge then s0ds off the Villa for a few more quid. Sums it up really. | |
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| Pride In The Club on 13:51 - Jun 1 with 2590 views | franniesTache |
| Pride In The Club on 13:31 - Jun 1 by Saintsforeverj |
You are spot on Frannie. I have renewed but totally understand and agree with all your points. Nick needs to accept the truth and understand the hate of Liverpool and the reasons why people are fed up of football. It was Nick who mentioned the Brighton Kop. Amongst other things, it's a disgrace that LFC have pubs in other club's cities. It's only them, not other clubs. He knows the reasons they are hated and needs to stop his nauseating and annoying defence of them. That is also putting people off. They are one of the clubs destroying the game we all used to love and he defends them ???? You are right Frannie, the plastics walking through my city in Liverpool shirts are putting people off. It's like a disease destroying the game.
As for season tickets, there were plenty of games where there were empty seats at Brighton, terrible example. Plus they finished 9th didn't they and they have invested in their team. And fans want to see players fight fir the shirt. These spoilt players getting managers sacked, downing tools (not just here but at lots of clubs), strolling around the pitch when people have spent half of their wages on a ticket, is not good enough. I understand Nick's plea for fans t support the club, but get in the real world. It's expensive but the PL (and Saints) arn't giving anything back. Remember the Virgin media free away trips and free drink etc. It's all gone. So yes I have renewed, but totally understand peoples reasons for not. [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 13:52]
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Apart from a small handful of clubs you've got to ask yourself what's the point? The league table is more or less a list of bank balances or wages spent, the FA Cup is now nearly always won by a rich club, with Newcastle's oil money we'll probably see the league cup become a closed shop too.
So what's left? Hoping you can blag a europa league spot because one of the rich clubs has won the cup? Praying you don't get relegated because your club might go under?
Or maybe you get lucky, you do well for a season or two. The season after you're stripped of any good players and in a mess.
Football in England is pointless for most of us, we have nothing to play for and nearly every club will go down before they win something.
Does anyone really blame people for not going when those are the options? I know a fair few who'd actually start going again if we got relegated but they don't see the point in the premier league as it's rigged before you start. | | | |
| Pride In The Club on 14:01 - Jun 1 with 2565 views | Saintsforeverj |
| Pride In The Club on 13:51 - Jun 1 by franniesTache |
Apart from a small handful of clubs you've got to ask yourself what's the point? The league table is more or less a list of bank balances or wages spent, the FA Cup is now nearly always won by a rich club, with Newcastle's oil money we'll probably see the league cup become a closed shop too.
So what's left? Hoping you can blag a europa league spot because one of the rich clubs has won the cup? Praying you don't get relegated because your club might go under?
Or maybe you get lucky, you do well for a season or two. The season after you're stripped of any good players and in a mess.
Football in England is pointless for most of us, we have nothing to play for and nearly every club will go down before they win something.
Does anyone really blame people for not going when those are the options? I know a fair few who'd actually start going again if we got relegated but they don't see the point in the premier league as it's rigged before you start. |
I also know a few who would go again if we went down. Some of our fans are "proper fans" in the sense that they want to see a competitive league, a decent game we have a chance of winning, with players fighting for the shirt, not their next big move or sponsorship deal. I know a few who now go to Eastleigh instead of Saints. Watching Saints get thrashed by a top club at 12:30 on a Sunday, isn't what proper Saints fans want to see. I agree, there isn't much point to the PL it's s actually really boring and sad. People go to watch Saints win. They don't go just, to "support the club" come what may or to take selfies. We want to see the team win games of football. I know we can't compete with the top 6 destroying our game.
My worry for football is that more and more people are supporting Liverpool and the top 6 clubs. All the kids want Liverpool shirts. I would never allow mine to do that ever, but societies wet weekend brigade parents allow them freedom of choice, despite being born and bred in another city. If this carries on, there won't be any other clubs for them to play as their fans get more more fed up and disillusioned. It's a dangerous thing I think for football as we know it. [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 14:10]
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| Pride In The Club on 14:08 - Jun 1 with 2550 views | ElijahK |
I think it’s down to multiple different reasons, each of which are arguably as big/important as one another.
As a few of the mates I go with are leaving the proper Itchen North as it’s just not what it used to be, and are going a bit lower down and central now. As the people that sing up there are just always singing the same sh*t over and over again, always going on about a result against the skates form like 4 years ago, and never sing any decent/original songs that have more than 7 different words in it. And that’s why the meaning behind being in certain area (like the Itchen north/Northam) has basically gone now, and seeing how most other areas are just dead for 99% of the game, and never have any atmosphere whatsoever, people might as well just go to watch the actual game as these areas just aren’t what they used to be, so as they’re going to watch the game, might as well be in a better seat for actually seeing the whole game and not right up in the corner, which may sing a bit more than the other areas, but are just about as meaningful as them.
But also on the fan side of things, it’s the price of tickets and game timings that can also be annoying/frustrating. As I myself was hopping to go to a few away games this season to stadiums I’ve not been to before, but when a weekend game (for the regular week, not the usual time of ones) up in Liverpool/Manchester/Newcastle gets mored to a Monday/Friday one, then it means that you just can’t go anymore, and if you do there’s like no time for the pub or any socialising before or after the game. And it’s basically the exact same for the early games (aka the 12:30 Saturday ones, or the 6:15 midweek ones). Which is all exactly why I only managed to go to just 3 non London away games this season.
Also because of how many games are on TV these days, and how it can be soo much easier, cheaper and just more convenient to watch it at home, especially with how poor we can be at times. As I think the lockdowns and games behind closed doors helped many fans to realise that watching a game on TV, ain’t much different to down at the grounds these days (especially with how dead/quite many of the area in the ground are these days), and with how basically all games are on TV, and that it’s just soo much better, why wouldn’t you? Which is why less and less are going to live games, yet more are watching them at home.
But for the game itself is also dying out. As these days, it’s just down to who’s got the most money, and not who’s got the best tactics, coaches, fans, atmosphere, academy, motivated/100% players like it used to be. As locality no longer exists with no players being like Le Tiss was, always leaving for the bigger clubs where all the money is, which creates these massive gaps in the league, which is what’s caused soo many glory hunters to appear. As the PL is practically 3 leagues these days, as you’ve got the top 6 (Aka Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea etc and Newcastle as well soon), the midtablers (aka us, Leicester, West Ham, Palace etc), and the relegating scrapers (Aka Norwich, Fulham, Burnley, Leeds, West Brom etc).
And every season 90% I’d those teams finish in the league that they all expected to be in, with just the odd teams finishing a bit higher/lower in that league, as well as like 4 or so teams going up/down a league (which this season for example, was just Brentford, Everton and West Ham, as everyone else finished roughly where people thought they would). But the thing is, is it’s like this every season, which is the exact same with cups, and is the exact reason why these cups are always won by the same 6 teams (with the exception of Leicester).
But then this all creates the issues around players and is why no decent players ever stay at their teams anymore and always end up with the “top 6”, and just keeps that gap stable/makes it bigger.
As each season goes by, the PL is becoming more and more predictable. As back before the PL, you had your favourites for competitions, but still anyone could basically win anything, but as times gone on, it’s only become more and more predictable. As when the PL was first formed, you were pretty certain of who was gonna be winning it, but there were still a few who could win it, and who came runners up, got relegated, made Europe etc, was anyone guess. Then as the 21st century emerged, the “top 6” was formed, which took up the top 7 like 20 times over 22 years, but who got that last European spot and who went down was still anyone guess. But these days though, it’s always the same, hence why you have these 3 leagues, and why it’s always the same teams winning it all, but even then you could even argue 3 new leagues been formed with the higher and lower midtablers (so West Ham, Wolves, Everton for higher, and us, Brighton, Palace for lower) as well as a top 2/3. And it just makes you wonder of how long until betting stops as well all know who’s gonna do what and finish where, because as time goes on, it’s just becoming more and more predictable and boring, which is why the major upsets (like us beating spurs, getting two draws against City and Man U) are more memorable/meaningful than they used to be.
And with the club, well I think it’s also due to how little fans seem to mean to them anymore. As that Liverpool game just summed it up. As I wasn’t there, but having seen enough people talk about it on here, as well as speaking to the head of the St Mary’s hospitality the other day, the club just cares about the money, and not the fans. Which is exactly why soo many Liverpool fans got tickets and no one did anything about it. But also just how dead certain areas are due to this, as many fans can’t afford to go anymore because of how expensive tickets are, which has meant that these Liverpool glory hunters have managed to get tickets, and all these people that just do it for the sake of it, not to support their local team. As that family zone sums it up, as they’ll allow away fans to cheer on there team and celebrate when they score, but if you say any swearing there you get kicked out (which just highlights everything that’s wrong in todays game!), even though it was going to the football games that taught me every word I needed to know.
But I myself am still getting a Season ticket, as it’s cheaper for me and who I go with to get one, than it is for just them to get one (due to person reasons). So even though I’ll probably miss out on quite a few home games next season due to my refereeing, I still might as well get one, which is exactly why I have. | |
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| Pride In The Club on 14:18 - Jun 1 with 2528 views | ElijahK |
| Pride In The Club on 12:11 - Jun 1 by SaintNick |
You are right in what you say, but most of those not renewing or boasting they are not going to, do so not stating the demise of the game, but because we are not spending money to compete with the big boys and therefore in their eyes we are not ambitious.
It used to be a laugh because back then we all knew the situation and we enjoyed going to the game and the camaraderie.
Now it isn't a laugh because of those demanding success and continually blaming the club and certain individuals be they managers, players or the owner for not providing it.
For some it has become about hatred, there always has to be a scapegoat, 3 years ago JWP was getting a lot of stick, now its Redmond or Walcott who hasn't even been playing.
Also the hatred of Liverpool, for some hating Liverpool is even more important than Saints doing well.
The biggest threads on here since the seasons end, havent been about Saints they have been about Liverpool, some can't see any irony in that,
This thread is the lowest in terms of reads today, if I had put up something about Liverpool it would have had four times the page hits, some seem to have more pride in hating Liverpool than they do in Saints who they ridicule at every turn
This post has been edited by an administrator |
No I think your spot on about the hatred towards Liverpool and certain players. As I still remember how our away support decided to sing about Liverpool loosing (aka a team that not even our proper rivals and should mean bugger all to us) rather than the saints team that was playing in front of us, at Leicester away. As I think FT has got it sport on about why they’re soo hates, and I pretty much agree with him on everything he’s said, but I think that the extremes some take it to is just too far/just ain’t right. As yeah you can say that we hope they loose and definitely talk about how the heck they’re blaming everyone else for the champions league (although rivalries mean nothing in that as it’s just ridiculous what they’re doing anyway), but the extremes that certain people take it to isn’t right.
And it’s the same with players. As you can criticise them yes, but when they’re not playing for us (aka Redmond/Walcott) yet are still receiving stick, then that’s just not right ether. And even then there’s a few players that somehow receive stick off of people for actually performing well like Prowse.
And those threads shouldn’t be the longest. But in all fairness wanting success is understandable, as we’re due some. As other than. palace and some of the new PL teams (aka Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth etc), we’ve got like the worst history for trophies outta basically all the teams, and it’s almost been half a century since we win anything, and almost a decade since we did well in the league. So seeing that fans do pay their fair price for tickets, and looking at how well similar size clubs have done in recent years, I do think fans have a right to demand success and some ambition from the team (as there’s no reason/excuse behind why one of the PL’s most consistent teams should be in the bottom 4/5 for basically everything money related with the likes of Bournemouth above them)l [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 14:43]
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| Pride In The Club on 14:42 - Jun 1 with 2486 views | ElijahK |
| Pride In The Club on 14:01 - Jun 1 by Saintsforeverj |
I also know a few who would go again if we went down. Some of our fans are "proper fans" in the sense that they want to see a competitive league, a decent game we have a chance of winning, with players fighting for the shirt, not their next big move or sponsorship deal. I know a few who now go to Eastleigh instead of Saints. Watching Saints get thrashed by a top club at 12:30 on a Sunday, isn't what proper Saints fans want to see. I agree, there isn't much point to the PL it's s actually really boring and sad. People go to watch Saints win. They don't go just, to "support the club" come what may or to take selfies. We want to see the team win games of football. I know we can't compete with the top 6 destroying our game.
My worry for football is that more and more people are supporting Liverpool and the top 6 clubs. All the kids want Liverpool shirts. I would never allow mine to do that ever, but societies wet weekend brigade parents allow them freedom of choice, despite being born and bred in another city. If this carries on, there won't be any other clubs for them to play as their fans get more more fed up and disillusioned. It's a dangerous thing I think for football as we know it. [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 14:10]
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Well the reason why there’s more and more glory hunters is pretty simple, as it’s to do with the fact that we’re starting to hit the second generation of them. As all the glory hunters and such started basically when the PL did (so the 90’s), so all the kids back then started to pick the top PL team like Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool etc. But as that was like 30 years ago, they’ve all had kids now, meaning that they’ve got their kids to support those teams and therefore the amount of the glory hunters is just ever increasing.
And for all the kids who’s parents don’t watch/aren’t into football, they’re seeing their mates wear all the big team kits and therefore pick them, and when they’ll have kids it’ll just pass on to them etc.
But it’s the exact reason why the first generation of Chelsea glory hunters have come through in recent years, as they only started doing really well in the early 21st century, so now as these kids from back then have grown up, they’ve started to support them as they were doing well then. And I’m sure Man City will have a load come through within the next decade, and after that probably Newcastle. As there’s always like a 20 year delay between the teams doing well and all the glory hunters coming through. Which is why the older better teams have soo many now.
As I myself was in the education system not too long ago, and a majority of the fans there were for the “top 6” teams, and as much as the saints fans there hated the skates there, we both at least respected one another for sticking with our local teams. But back in the days of many on here, I’m sure you’d laugh at that, as back then basically everyone supported their local teams, but now, as soo fee do, it’s just hitting a point where you can just naturally tell of whether they’re an actual fan or not. It’s like these days whenever you ask someone who they support at work, a game, at the pub etc, if they don’t say the local lot (aka portsmouth, Bournemouth, Eastleigh or us), and it’s not a “top 6” then you just know they’ve got some sort of family connection from there, and if they do say a “top 6”, 90% of the time are just the typical glory hunters.
But yeah it does make you wonder of where’s football heading, as how long will it be until everyone supports a “top X” team, and how will other teams survive, and if they did all go, who would all those top teams get in to replace them in their leagues? | |
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| Pride In The Club on 15:10 - Jun 1 with 2463 views | saint901 |
I don't get the "hatred" of other teams, Liverpool or any others.
Whether we like it or not Liverpool and top 6 teams are a better brand than Saints.
Which means that they attract investment, can negotiate better commercial deals, can therefore get better players and do well in league and cup, domestic and international.
That in turn breeds a certain arrogance or smugness in their supporters and also attracts "fans" who see little except the name and the badge.
I guarantee that if Saints had found a sugar daddy prepared to put in £1.5bn (as Abramovitch did at Chelsea) then we would have been competing at the top level, perhaps even winning some competitions and we would have attracted a fair number of part time supporters. Would us long term fans have become arrogant and smug? Absolutely. It's what humans do.
Knowing that does not make me "hate" Liverpool or any other team or their fans. There are certain groups of fans I find to be rude, inconsiderate, aggressive or just poor human beings (no names but Villa are up there). When we're playing them, I do take care to avoid them. But I don't succumb to "hate".
You can really only "hate" something you understand or know. The Villa fans I know are by and large decent people. The ones I don't know - see above. I dislike them as a group, I struggle to understand why they do what they do. But I don't "hate" them.
Hating things takes energy and calls for your attention. I'd rather just ignore the noise around Liverpool and the others and take some pleasure when things go poorly for them and ignore them if they do well. | | | |
| Pride In The Club on 15:31 - Jun 1 with 2426 views | Saintsforeverj |
| Pride In The Club on 15:10 - Jun 1 by saint901 |
I don't get the "hatred" of other teams, Liverpool or any others.
Whether we like it or not Liverpool and top 6 teams are a better brand than Saints.
Which means that they attract investment, can negotiate better commercial deals, can therefore get better players and do well in league and cup, domestic and international.
That in turn breeds a certain arrogance or smugness in their supporters and also attracts "fans" who see little except the name and the badge.
I guarantee that if Saints had found a sugar daddy prepared to put in £1.5bn (as Abramovitch did at Chelsea) then we would have been competing at the top level, perhaps even winning some competitions and we would have attracted a fair number of part time supporters. Would us long term fans have become arrogant and smug? Absolutely. It's what humans do.
Knowing that does not make me "hate" Liverpool or any other team or their fans. There are certain groups of fans I find to be rude, inconsiderate, aggressive or just poor human beings (no names but Villa are up there). When we're playing them, I do take care to avoid them. But I don't succumb to "hate".
You can really only "hate" something you understand or know. The Villa fans I know are by and large decent people. The ones I don't know - see above. I dislike them as a group, I struggle to understand why they do what they do. But I don't "hate" them.
Hating things takes energy and calls for your attention. I'd rather just ignore the noise around Liverpool and the others and take some pleasure when things go poorly for them and ignore them if they do well. |
In a fluffy, lovely and ideal world, we don't have hate. In the real world we have Putin, the Taliban and Liverpool. Some things are deserving of hate I'm afraid. [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 15:32]
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| Pride In The Club on 15:51 - Jun 1 with 2396 views | franniesTache |
| Pride In The Club on 15:10 - Jun 1 by saint901 |
I don't get the "hatred" of other teams, Liverpool or any others.
Whether we like it or not Liverpool and top 6 teams are a better brand than Saints.
Which means that they attract investment, can negotiate better commercial deals, can therefore get better players and do well in league and cup, domestic and international.
That in turn breeds a certain arrogance or smugness in their supporters and also attracts "fans" who see little except the name and the badge.
I guarantee that if Saints had found a sugar daddy prepared to put in £1.5bn (as Abramovitch did at Chelsea) then we would have been competing at the top level, perhaps even winning some competitions and we would have attracted a fair number of part time supporters. Would us long term fans have become arrogant and smug? Absolutely. It's what humans do.
Knowing that does not make me "hate" Liverpool or any other team or their fans. There are certain groups of fans I find to be rude, inconsiderate, aggressive or just poor human beings (no names but Villa are up there). When we're playing them, I do take care to avoid them. But I don't succumb to "hate".
You can really only "hate" something you understand or know. The Villa fans I know are by and large decent people. The ones I don't know - see above. I dislike them as a group, I struggle to understand why they do what they do. But I don't "hate" them.
Hating things takes energy and calls for your attention. I'd rather just ignore the noise around Liverpool and the others and take some pleasure when things go poorly for them and ignore them if they do well. |
You give them and their legions of plastic c*nts a free ride because of a hypothetical buy out of Saints that's never going to happen in our lifetimes?
Fair enough, but most of us see them and their like for what they are, the single biggest contributing factor in the death of the game.
Take away the money, take away the overseas fans and we have our game again, leave it as it is and there's no point for most of us.
Do i hate scousers? No. Do i hate everything that club represent and all of their out of town and overseas fans? Yup, with a passion.
F*ck being nice, it's football. | | | |
| Pride In The Club on 17:16 - Jun 1 with 2306 views | kingslandstand1 |
Or say they're not renewing!! |  | | |
| Pride In The Club on 17:22 - Jun 1 with 2294 views | Chesham_Saint |
Agree with much of what has been said here but:
1. People rightly say it was more fun with the lads when they started, but remember you were younger and more carefree then - with no jobs/kids/partners or other more mature worries.
2. It’s got worse I admit, but there’s always been quite a few plastics supporting other clubs - in the 70s Chelsea and Leeds, 80s Liverpool, 90s Man U etc
Simple answer - Liverpool et al fack off to another league pronto and don’t come back. |  |
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| Pride In The Club on 17:24 - Jun 1 with 2294 views | saint901 |
| Pride In The Club on 15:51 - Jun 1 by franniesTache |
You give them and their legions of plastic c*nts a free ride because of a hypothetical buy out of Saints that's never going to happen in our lifetimes?
Fair enough, but most of us see them and their like for what they are, the single biggest contributing factor in the death of the game.
Take away the money, take away the overseas fans and we have our game again, leave it as it is and there's no point for most of us.
Do i hate scousers? No. Do i hate everything that club represent and all of their out of town and overseas fans? Yup, with a passion.
F*ck being nice, it's football. |
If they're in your head to that extent, they've already won.
I would disagree that one club or even one collection of rich clubs in the PL is the single biggest contributor to the death of the game.
If you think "the game" is a bunch of clubs finding players locally or at least within the UK, playing a slower, cruder version of what we see today and not being able to compete in Europe against better teams playing better football, then good luck.
I do not want to see the English teams in a backwater playing each other and learning nothing and seeing the standard decline as the money leaves.
If you think the death of the game is because of "big clubs", then you need to look at Utd, Forest, Arsenal - all of whom were taking strides in Europe long before the Arab/Russian/dirty money arrived. | | | |
| Pride In The Club on 17:36 - Jun 1 with 2284 views | ElijahK |
| Pride In The Club on 17:24 - Jun 1 by saint901 |
If they're in your head to that extent, they've already won.
I would disagree that one club or even one collection of rich clubs in the PL is the single biggest contributor to the death of the game.
If you think "the game" is a bunch of clubs finding players locally or at least within the UK, playing a slower, cruder version of what we see today and not being able to compete in Europe against better teams playing better football, then good luck.
I do not want to see the English teams in a backwater playing each other and learning nothing and seeing the standard decline as the money leaves.
If you think the death of the game is because of "big clubs", then you need to look at Utd, Forest, Arsenal - all of whom were taking strides in Europe long before the Arab/Russian/dirty money arrived. |
Ok but back then the game was still competitive, and the fact that both Forest and Villa won the European championship just sums it up. As yeah they were bigger than what they are today (as in when being compared to other teams) but they weren’t some major European team that were favourites for it all.
And back then, anyone could win the leagues and cups, as yeah there were still favourites, but anyone could still win it. And it is due to those clubs as they were the ones to take it to the extreme, are right now 4 of the 6 clubs are owned by Americans which is the exact way we don’t want our sport to end up being like, but it’s exactly where it’s heading. As it’s the increase in the money coming in from those billionaire owners that are causing the gaps to get bigger, and seeing how those owners are only there for a few teams, I really can’t see how others are also to blame for it. | |
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| Pride In The Club on 17:51 - Jun 1 with 2265 views | Saintsforeverj |
| Pride In The Club on 17:24 - Jun 1 by saint901 |
If they're in your head to that extent, they've already won.
I would disagree that one club or even one collection of rich clubs in the PL is the single biggest contributor to the death of the game.
If you think "the game" is a bunch of clubs finding players locally or at least within the UK, playing a slower, cruder version of what we see today and not being able to compete in Europe against better teams playing better football, then good luck.
I do not want to see the English teams in a backwater playing each other and learning nothing and seeing the standard decline as the money leaves.
If you think the death of the game is because of "big clubs", then you need to look at Utd, Forest, Arsenal - all of whom were taking strides in Europe long before the Arab/Russian/dirty money arrived. |
Fa Cup winners - Liverpool
League cup winners - Liverpool
Premier League winners - Man City
Premier League runner up - Liverpool
Top 5 - Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal.
Erm, there we go. Man City and Liverpool will take turns winning the league for the next 10 years. It is indeed one or two clubs spoiling the competition. Newcastle with their billions will soon start to have a say. The top 6 will pick itself before a ball is kicked. [Post edited 1 Jun 2022 17:54]
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| Pride In The Club on 20:32 - Jun 1 with 2159 views | Saintcole7 |
Completely agree, sorry Nick I was there to buy your first ever "hard" copy of the TUI at the Dell and I have to sadly admit I gave my season ticket up 5 years ago after 30 odd years. Really enjoyed division 1 (football at 3pm on Saturdays) and the journey through the championship, loads of memories, remember exiting the Emerites and speaking to gunners fans thinking we were down on our return but the top flight has changed from the 80/90's and after the Van Dick episode I decided I would not renew our 3 season tickets as the PL is all about money and that's all it is money, not helped that we traveled 1.5 hours minimum each way so though hard I came to the conclusion it was not worth the pain for the very very little adrenaline rush you get and then now you add in VAR, what a ridiculous, stop the excitement, who knows what will be decided situation that is?
As for Liverpool, I grew up in Salisbury, I am roughly the same age as you Nick at 54, in my class I supported Saints as my dad took me, one boy supported the then great Nottingham Forest, everybody else supported Liverpool (as they won everything then), nobody else had ever watched "live" football, every party/disco seemed to end with "your never walk alone" playing, I was fed up even at that age of them. Then came the awful events of the Saturday I was at West Ham where we won and more or less survived in division 1 and all the years of blame between Liverpool fans, the Police and the Government, we then have Hysle and we suffer as a club being banned from Europe, Mr Rodgers then takes half our team and then our best centre back is injured but "tapped" up and goes there! Sorry but I admit to hating Liverpool and all they stand for. As my record will show I no longer post, I read, but your defence of Liverpool is so ridiculous I felt I had to reply to you, I love your optimism and hope for our club but I would say football as we kne w it is "dead", sorry! | | | |
| Pride In The Club on 21:37 - Jun 1 with 2111 views | green |
| Pride In The Club on 11:38 - Jun 1 by franniesTache |
I renewed, like i always do (this will be my 38th straight season of going to games), but i'm more and more tempted not to each year.
The reason why has very little to do with pride, i'm one of the most proud sotonians you can find and love the city massively.
It's because football, the premier league and everything it stands for is broken. Money has decimated the game, a handful of clubs are on financial steroids, the rise of the plastic/out of towner fans, the overseas numpties, the noddies in the ground singing sh*t unoriginal songs and engaging in "banter" towards the away/home fans, the kick off times moved every week, the stats nonces arguing about hypothetical goals scored and the god awful media, fawning over the big clubs, selling off the players of any other if they're good and condescending us at every opportunity.
Football used to be a release, a day out with my mates and family, it used to be a great laugh and even though we were mostly sh*t it was fun.
Now it's more sh*t than good, and it's expensive sh*t to boot. So i don't blame anyone for not renewing, and i don't doubt their pride in Southampton, they just don't want to be taken for mugs by businesses who'd replace them with tourists if we ever became successful. |
I think this is well said and I agree wholeheartedly with most of it.
However, I think it's up to decent people to take a stand and for me that means I'm not going to give up my ST. If I wasn't in my seat then there's more chance of one of those people you say getting it and I definitely won't be singing something about a Mars bar on someone's head like we had a few years ago. |  | | |
| Pride In The Club on 06:42 - Jun 4 with 1600 views | 1teeminants |
Many people are sick to death of the same clubs every year winning everything and cease to enjoy it so they don’t renew which is totally understandable and they don’t really see the point in it. That doesn’t mean they have no pride in Saints and I don’t know any that boast about not renewing . Others and I include myself, feel the same but still go anyway as they love the club ,have great pride in the city and it would just be weird not attending because they’ve been doing it so long and as has been have mentioned it’s better than going shopping with your wife ffs. Personally I love football and I really enjoy meeting up with mates every weekend having a few beers and it’s a great release from the everyday stresses of the working week. [Post edited 4 Jun 2022 10:14]
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