Saints have announced that they have sold over 13,000 season tickets and that is frankly amazing given the amount of people that claimed that they could not afford to renew without the payment plan.
However from the fact that sales are in the words of the official site "far in excess of the total number last year, including half season sales" it is clear that a fair number of these tickets are new season ticket holder for this season.
This reflects the optimism felt by a large number of those that could perhaps be described as more floating supporters, ie those that chose to pick and choose their games last season, they clearly now have the confidence to commit to attending more games in the season than they have in the recent past.
However there should be a not of caution, whilst its good to see these supporters coming into the season ticket holding supporter base, for whatever reason, it is clear that we have alienated a fair proportion of those supporters who stuck with the club through the bad times and the club should be taking note of this.
At the moment its easy to sell season tickets and if the club get promotion it will be easier still in 2011/12 as the tide of optimism sweeps over the club, but as was proved after relegation, a fair chunk of the supporter base is more fairweather than they would admit and as easily as they will put on the wigs and facepaint for the good times, they will be found elsewhere on a Saturday when the going is not so good.
I have always maintained that for the most part, our support is not determined by financial constraints, this is an affluent part of the country and our supporter base is not as working class as the likes of say Everton or Newcastle, what affects season ticket sales, as has just been proven now, is not re payment plans not affordability, but the fact that the team is successful, OK thats perhaps the case everywhere, but over the years probably more so here.
Im chuffed that 13,000 have chose to renew, I would be more chuffed if St Mary's was full to the brim every game next season, I want success for this football club, why wouldnt I, I have supported it for nearly 39 years since my first game in 1972, in that time I have seen many ups and downs and I would guess that I have missed on average less than a game a season at home, but what I have learnt from that is football is boom and bust, and the way that you make sure the supporters stay behind you in the bad times is to take care of them in the good times.
We do have some great supporters and many that came regularly for the first time when we moved to St Mary's have stayed with us through thick and thin and this is why we can amass such a good total of season tickets today in the third tier of English football, after all Pompey were crowing about selling 8,000 only a week or two ago and using it as an example of why they are the greatest supporters in the world, if thats the case I dont know what that makes us !!
But a final word of caution its easy to be loyal during the good times, yes we did take 50,000 to Wembley, but remember that came only five days after we had one of our lowest crowds of the season at St Mary's 18,072 for Hartlepool, also remember that it was only seven years since Rupert Lowe was popular in these parts and less than 20 miles away Sacha Gaydamak was seen as the greatest man ever to be connected to Portsmouth Football Club