Estimated attendance for tonight?

[hypochondriac]

The evidence of his opinion, silly!

 

So actually calling cork a reserve is utterly incorrect as it is based on nothing.

[Matthew Le God]

Based on what evidence?

 

The evidence of his opinion, silly!

 

Yes, my opinion. Although some on here think I am unable to form an opinion.

 

Davis has joined us as former captain of Rangers and will be one of our highest earners. He has not come here to play second fiddle and will be seen as first choice.

 

Schneiderlin plays a vital role in the team and in my opinion is a better player than Cork. That isn't to say Cork isn't good, I'd be more than happy to see him play for us in the Premier League.

 

Ward-Prowse is clearly extremely talented and has a big future, he is though still only 17 and I think he will be dipped in and out of the team over the season.

[Le Timmier]

Brilliant thread. An enthralling read.

[maysie]

So actually calling cork a reserve is utterly incorrect as it is based on nothing.

 

Ignore.

[Matthew Le God]

So actually calling cork a reserve is utterly incorrect as it is based on nothing.

 

Alot of this is stemming from our differing views on the definition of "reserve", I'm merely using it to describe someone that is not in the first choice XI. If they are not in the first choice XI they are the reserve/backup to those that are. That doesn't mean they are in the "reserve team" or development squad. Just that they are the backup to the first choice, with everyone fit I think Rodriguez would be behind Lambert in the pecking order and Davis and Schniederlin would generally play ahead of Cork and Ward-Prowse.

Edited 25 September, 2012 by Matthew Le God

[hypochondriac]

Fair enough. Just wanted confirmation that cork being a reserve is based on no evidence and is in fact entirely based on opinion. Good good.

[maysie]

Back to topic, I just think there is a lack of interest in the cup games. Will be interesting to see what the crowd would be if we get a prem team at home next round.

[doddisalegend]

Last time I was at SMS and it was as empty as tonight was Cheltenham in the FA cup a couple of seasons back....still for 20 quid for me and the nipper it was an entertaining little game.

[Matthew Le God]

To show how much of a reserve fixture it was, Adkins even let Crosby do the pre and post match interviews! So even the management was the reserve tonight!

[hypochondriac]

Alot of this is stemming from our differing views on the definition of "reserve", I'm merely using it to describe someone that is not in the first choice XI. If they are not in the first choice XI they are the reserve/backup to those that are. That doesn't mean they are in the "reserve team" or development squad. Just that they are the backup to the first choice, with everyone fit I think Rodriguez would be behind Lambert in the pecking order and Davis and Schniederlin would generally play ahead of Cork and Ward-Prowse.

 

You already said that. None of it stems from our differing definition of reserve, I just wanted confirmation that cork being a reserve is based on no evidence and is just your opinion.

[The Cat]

Rubbish crowd. The Northam made the odd bit of noise, no one else joined in.

 

Not sure why they bothered opening the Chapel. All 37 people sat in it could have gone in any of the 3 other stands.

[The9]

It wasn't a "reserve team" and you know it.

 

The important fact here is that people were EXPECTING it to be a reserve team, whether it was or not is irrelevant.

 

FWIW I think it was mostly a reserve team with a few fringe first teamers like Cork/Gazzaniga/JWP/Rodriguez and one from Yoshida/Hooiveld.

[Matthew Le God]

Not sure why they bothered opening the Chapel. All 37 people sat in it could have gone in any of the 3 other stands.

 

Cheap way of meaning they didn't require ball assistants to fetch the ball from that stand!

[doddisalegend]

To show how much of a reserve fixture it was, Adkins even let Crosby do the pre and post match interviews! So even the management was the reserve tonight!

 

listened to the interview on solent on the way home ....I think Crosby should do all the interviews

[The Kraken]

The important fact here is that people were EXPECTING it to be a reserve team, whether it was or not is irrelevant.

 

Without wishing to labout the point; for the other teams that I listed and their attendances much higher than ours, most of their fans knew they would also not put out 100% strength sides and yet their attendances were all relatively decent. The fact they played Premier League opposition may have been a factor; we'll see in the next round if we draw a PL side (though our 10K gate against Bolton in the League Cup 2nd round a couple of years ago suggests its no guarantee).

 

FWIW I think it was mostly a reserve team with a few fringe first teamers like Cork/Gazzaniga/JWP/Rodriguez and one from Yoshida/Hooiveld.

 

Again, we'll have to disagree. It wasn't a 100% strength team, of course it wasn't, but to call it a reserve team just isn't accurate IMO.

[Thedelldays]

Not reserves... But generally the under studies though

[Turkish]

If a player isn't in the first XI, he is a reserve to those that are. We only had one or two players that would be in our best XI playing tonight.

 

Utter boll*cks. You think a football club only has XI first choice players then everyone else is a reserve?

[Turkish]

When did I say Cork was a reserve "just because he was injured". I haven't said such a thing, Davis and Schneiderlin are the first choice if everyone is fit for central midfield. Cork and Ward-Prowse provide competition for places and more than adequate replacements. There is still a pecking order and I think Cork and Ward-Prowse in the 4231 system we are now using are 3rd and 4th choices for central midfield.

 

Have I said they aren't good players? Have I said they won't play or start in games this season? No on both counts.

 

All I said was they are not in the first XI, and anyone that is not in the first XI is a reserve or backup to those that are.

 

For example...

 

- Lambert is our first choice striker, Rodriguez is his reserve.

- Boruc will be the first choice keeper, Gazzaniga will be his reserve.

- Davis and Schniederlin are the first choice central midifeld, Ward-Prowse and Cork are the reserves.

etc etc

 

Here. you said Cork is the reserve.

[Turkish]

Alot of this is stemming from our differing views on the definition of "reserve", I'm merely using it to describe someone that is not in the first choice XI. If they are not in the first choice XI they are the reserve/backup to those that are. That doesn't mean they are in the "reserve team" or development squad. Just that they are the backup to the first choice, with everyone fit I think Rodriguez would be behind Lambert in the pecking order and Davis and Schniederlin would generally play ahead of Cork and Ward-Prowse.

 

I thought you said on post 27 every Saints fan knew it would be a reserve team playing tonight? Was it a reserve team or not? And it seems no other Saints fan on this forum thought it was a reserve team, only you.

[Saint Garrett]

So what was the attendance then

[Scummer]

Whatever anyone says, something has obviously happened over the past few years to put people off going to cup games. We used to buck the trend of declining attendances, especially in the league cup. I remember many a thread showing how we had far better attendances than a lot of other 'big' clubs, and mocking the sub-10k crowds the likes of Bolton and Blackburn were getting.

 

Personally, despite having a season ticket, I very rarely go to cup matches these days. If we get a good draw in the next round I might go, but then again I might not.

 

In my view, the decline in cup gates coincided with us starting to play weakened teams. We didn't used to do this, in fact I'd probably trace it back to Redknapp who started to devalue the cups for Saints

[John Boy Saint]

What was surprising last night was normally when the other squad players were given a run out in the cup the bench was normally peppered with a few of the more of the clubs bigger guns, last night the only name that you would expect to see on a Saturday team sheet on the bench was Kelvin.

[dubai_phil]

What was surprising last night was normally when the other squad players were given a run out in the cup the bench was normally peppered with a few of the more of the clubs bigger guns, last night the only name that you USED TO expect to see on a Saturday team sheet on the bench was Kelvin.

 

Think that may sum it up.

 

Solent mentioned that we had Shaw injured and a couple of youngsters (who would more likely have been on the bench) were away with England. The " sudden concerns" that Cork may have done his knee showed that these games while important for maintaining match fitness of SQUAD members, are a worry for picking up silly injuries.

 

If we'd lost the only impact is the loss of "warm up games" Personally the fact that the bench was ALL kids (except for KD) will have given a huge boost to the Academy & Development Squads. There IS now a route for the best kids to make the first team match days...

 

meanwhile. As we clearly cannot fill the stadium shouldn't we close the Itchen/Northam Corner for the season again?

 

Oh and MLG?

 

The EPL is a 25 man SQUAD game these days. There is no first team any more, there are squad players and rotations.

 

Every side ROTATES players. Anyone who saw SRL 5 minutes from time on Saturday v Villa would have seen he was utterly shattered. Players don't keep that up every week.

 

We do have a reserve team they are called the Development Squad.

 

The guys were right this time round. Reserve Teams went out the window in the days when football boots were always black

Edited 26 September, 2012 by dubai_phil

[doddisalegend]

Think that may sum it up.

 

Solent mentioned that we had Shaw injured and a couple of youngsters (who would more likely have been on the bench) were away with England. The " sudden concerns" that Cork may have done his knee showed that these games while important for maintaining match fitness of SQUAD members, are a worry for picking up silly injuries.

 

If we'd lost the only impact is the loss of "warm up games" Personally the fact that the bench was ALL kids (except for KD) will have given a huge boost to the Academy & Development Squads. There IS now a route for the best kids to make the first team match days...

 

meanwhile. As we clearly cannot fill the stadium shouldn't we close the Itchen/Northam Corner for the season again?

 

Oh and MLG?

 

The EPL is a 25 man SQUAD game these days. There is no first team any more, there are squad players and rotations.

 

Every side ROTATES players. Anyone who saw SRL 5 minutes from time on Saturday v Villa would have seen he was utterly shattered. Players don't keep that up every week.

 

We do have a reserve team they are called the Development Squad.

 

The guys were right this time round. Reserve Teams went out the window in the days when football boots were always black

 

bit unfair on Danny Butterfield:)

[dubai_phil]

bit unfair on Danny Butterfield:)

 

He's reaching an age where he would thank me for that

[Ken Tone]

Whatever anyone says, something has obviously happened over the past few years to put people off going to cup games. We used to buck the trend of declining attendances, especially in the league cup. I remember many a thread showing how we had far better attendances than a lot of other 'big' clubs, and mocking the sub-10k crowds the likes of Bolton and Blackburn were getting.

 

Personally, despite having a season ticket, I very rarely go to cup matches these days. If we get a good draw in the next round I might go, but then again I might not.

 

In my view, the decline in cup gates coincided with us starting to play weakened teams. We didn't used to do this, in fact I'd probably trace it back to Redknapp who started to devalue the cups for Saints

 

 

Same here. Evening games are difficult to get to in time after work for me at best, and it's the little things that tip the balance in deciding whether to go to a cup game -- in particular that my car park season ticket only covers league games, so i'd have to get down to Southampton earlier than usual to find somewhere to park etc.

 

A bad piece of marketing that. If they'd charged me a few quid more for the car park, but included cup games, that would probably have tipped the balance in the apathy stakes.

[JPTCount]

it really amazes me that the club dont push to fill the stadium. even if u give away seats for free, id say 1 in 4 would buy a program, and 1 in 2 would but food and/or drink. so that's £10,000 lost in program revenue and £50,000 lost in food & drink sales. and if the rest of the tickets were bought at full price thats a total of £60,000 lost. ultimately I feel sorry for Wednesday, who would have looked at this game as a good money earner.

 

I'm guessing the club dont do any bums on seats policies, I remember 10 or so years ago my brother's used to get special deals from thier Saturday morning football clubs. stuff like kids go for a pound with a full paying adult etc.

[Window Cleaner]

it really amazes me that the club dont push to fill the stadium. even if u give away seats for free, id say 1 in 4 would buy a program, and 1 in 2 would but food and/or drink. so that's £10,000 lost in program revenue and £50,000 lost in food & drink sales. and if the rest of the tickets were bought at full price thats a total of £60,000 lost. ultimately I feel sorry for Wednesday, who would have looked at this game as a good money earner.

 

I'm guessing the club dont do any bums on seats policies, I remember 10 or so years ago my brother's used to get special deals from thier Saturday morning football clubs. stuff like kids go for a pound with a full paying adult etc.

 

 

Giving stuff away is complicated nowadays, probably got something to do with HMRC, for them there's no such thing as a free ticket. Might even have to pay VAT on an amount they estimate.

[This Charming Man]

I haven't read through this thread but last nights attendance was appalling and embarrassing after everyone mocking the Skates for their recent crowds.

[Patrick Bateman]

It doesn't matter what the attendance was really - but it's obvious football is overpriced. How much was last night? I bet it was at least £20 (I didn't even bother looking) - had it been (say) £12.50 or even £15, I bet FAR more people would have attended after work?

 

Football is too expensive.

[JPTCount]

Rubbish crowd. The Northam made the odd bit of noise, no one else joined in.

 

Not sure why they bothered opening the Chapel. All 37 people sat in it could have gone in any of the 3 other stands.

 

I noticed the northam started singing 'pompey scum' 10/15 mins in. that's basically our Mexican wave, the football and the atmosphere was dry last night, the latter always is with 20,000 ppl missing.

[This Charming Man]

It doesn't matter what the attendance was really - but it's obvious football is overpriced. How much was last night? I bet it was at least £20 (I didn't even bother looking) - had it been (say) £12.50 or even £15, I bet FAR more people would have attended after work?

 

Football is too expensive.

 

Adults were £15.

[JPTCount]

It doesn't matter what the attendance was really - but it's obvious football is overpriced. How much was last night? I bet it was at least £20 (I didn't even bother looking) - had it been (say) £12.50 or even £15, I bet FAR more people would have attended after work?

 

Football is too expensive.

 

it was £15.

[Window Cleaner]

Adults were £15.

 

OAPS £10, Under 17s £5

 

But with first team football now costing a pretty penny there's probably less money to go round for Capital One Cup games.

[Beachcombers Windowsill]

I haven't read through this thread but last nights attendance was appalling and embarrassing after everyone mocking the Skates for their recent crowds.

 

And I wouldn't bother. Half of it is arguing over the semantics of the word reserve. Absolute bore mania.

[JPTCount]

Giving stuff away is complicated nowadays, probably got something to do with HMRC, for them there's no such thing as a free ticket. Might even have to pay VAT on an amount they estimate.

 

why would u pay value added tax on something that has no face value? and how do competitions work if u can't give away free ****?

 

but I'm not saying completely free, just a nominal amount.

 

deals are the big thing wot with the economy and popularity of deal sites. the club would have known on Saturday they had sold f*ck all tickets, and they had 30,000 ppl to advertise directly to on the big boards and at half time.

 

still a shame st holders didn't get this for free, I thought it was pretty standard for cup games, especially league cup, to be included.

[This Charming Man]

why would u pay value added tax on something that has no face value? and how do competitions work if u can't give away free ****?

 

but I'm not saying completely free, just a nominal amount.

 

deals are the big thing wot with the economy and popularity of deal sites. the club would have known on Saturday they had sold f*ck all tickets, and they had 30,000 ppl to advertise directly to on the big boards and at half time.

 

still a shame st holders didn't get this for free, I thought it was pretty standard for cup games, especially league cup, to be included.

 

Would be a nice touch and would certainly help boost the crowd.

 

There's even a comment on BBC Sports live feed thing about our poor attendance last night. They're trying to get a debate going over why PL teams aren't interested in the competition and cite our poor crowd as one example.

[The9]

I thought you said on post 27 every Saints fan knew it would be a reserve team playing tonight? Was it a reserve team or not? And it seems no other Saints fan on this forum thought it was a reserve team, only you.

 

*Cough*

[The9]

And I wouldn't bother. Half of it is arguing over the semantics of the word reserve. Absolute bore mania.

 

Indeed.

[This Charming Man]

Here's a picture I took last night, minutes before KO. Something needs to be done as this is poor;

 

[Turkish]

I guess there just arent that many people in Lewes and Cirencester who want to come to Southampton on a wet Tuesday night to watch capital one cup football.

[The9]

It doesn't matter what the attendance was really - but it's obvious football is overpriced. How much was last night? I bet it was at least £20 (I didn't even bother looking) - had it been (say) £12.50 or even £15, I bet FAR more people would have attended after work?

 

Football is too expensive.

 

I turned down a ticket for £10 around 5pm, I just did not care whatsoever whether we won or not. If we get to the Final, yeah, great, it'll have been a part in that, but it's not until the last 16 it's worth considering putting out anything other than the developmental squad with a smattering of regular starters*.

 

But the hassle of getting there, parking, getting soaked and spending over 3 hours in order to watch something I just wasn't interested in just wasn't worth it. I might possibly have gone for a fiver, not sure, I had plans for the evening doing not much...

*for the pendants

[This Charming Man]

I turned down a ticket for £10 around 5pm, I just did not care whatsoever whether we won or not. If we get to the Final, yeah, great, it'll have been a part in that, but it's not until the last 16 it's worth considering putting out anything other than the developmental squad with a smattering of regular starters*.

 

But the hassle of getting there, parking, getting soaked and spending over 3 hours in order to watch something I just wasn't interested in just wasn't worth it. I might possibly have gone for a fiver, not sure, I had plans for the evening doing not much...

*for the pendants

 

Glory hunter.

[The Kraken]

Here's a picture I took last night, minutes before KO. Something needs to be done as this is poor.

 

Agreed. Its not as if we've never had decent League Cup attendances before (over 20K against Colchester at St. Mary's few years back), but there seems to be little enthusiasm for it amongst Saints fans these days. Even when in League 1 and drawn against Premier League Bolton we only got 10K. Compare that to West Ham's 25K last night against Wigan (who probably took about 5 fans themselves) and it's really quite poor.

 

Is it cost? £15 really isn't a huge amount to pay; I get the feeling even a ticket price of £10 wouldn't do it.

Is it the opposition? Well, our attendances in league 1 and the Championship would suggest that more than 20K will go and watch Saints play lower league opposition if it feels right, and pay more per ticket for those games than they were being offered for last night.

Is it the sides put out? Likely to be a factor, yes, although last night's team contained a number of players (Gazza, Richardson, Hooiveld, Yoshida, JWP, Cork, JRod) who will be in contention for at least a place on the bench on Saturday, and some will start. So its not exactly a team of nobodies, or a development side.

Is it a common factor that all PL sides get crowds this low? Well, no. Crowds are down, of course, but West Ham had 25K, Chelsea over 30K, Leeds over 20K, even MK Dons had more watching them than us last night.

[Turkish]

Let's hear from our self titled Intelligent posters. What do you think the reason is for this seasons disapointing attendances, as highlighted by last nights embarassing turnout in the capital one cup? 7th highest spenders in Europe back in the promised land but apathy seems to reign supreme on the South Coast right now. Give us your views on http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/estimatedattendancefortonight

[doddisalegend]

Agreed. Its not as if we've never had decent League Cup attendances before (over 20K against Colchester at St. Mary's few years back), but there seems to be little enthusiasm for it amongst Saints fans these days. Even when in League 1 and drawn against Premier League Bolton we only got 10K. Compare that to West Ham's 25K last night against Wigan (who probably took about 5 fans themselves) and it's really quite poor.

 

Is it cost? £15 really isn't a huge amount to pay; I get the feeling even a ticket price of £10 wouldn't do it.

Is it the opposition? Well, our attendances in league 1 and the Championship would suggest that more than 20K will go and watch Saints play lower league opposition if it feels right, and pay more per ticket for those games than they were being offered for last night.

Is it the sides put out? Likely to be a factor, yes, although last night's team contained a number of players (Gazza, Richardson, Hooiveld, Yoshida, JWP, Cork, JRod) who will be in contention for at least a place on the bench on Saturday, and some will start. So its not exactly a team of nobodies, or a development side.

Is it a common factor that all PL sides get crowds this low? Well, no. Crowds are down, of course, but West Ham had 25K, Chelsea over 30K, Leeds over 20K, even MK Dons had more watching them than us last night.

 

Well I went becuase it was cheaper to take me and the boy than go to a PL game I thought there would be a few dads a similair situation....but prehaps not. Still if we get to the final I'll take my ticket from last night and wave it at everyone:lol:

[ant]

But the hassle of getting there, parking, getting soaked and spending over 3 hours in order to watch something I just wasn't interested in just wasn't worth it. I might possibly have gone for a fiver, not sure, I had plans for the evening doing not much...

]

 

Fair enough, but you wouldn't have got soaked. Walked to the ground and stood outside for an age in the queue for collections - not a spot of rain

 

 

Here's a picture I took last night, minutes before KO. Something needs to be done as this is poor;

 

 

Bit silly taking a picture of Chapel when 99% of the fans there were in the other stands. Not to say that the attendance wasn't poor.

 

It may have been a professional performance but it was dire to watch and I was tempted to rip out the voiceboxes of the 'yoof' around me. My ST is in the Northam so I'm pretty used to odd behaviour, but it was pretty clear that the lunatics had taken over the asylum last night. Take the most annoying, small-time chants going and repeat incessantly. Add in about ten minutes of berating a fat lad in the away section. "Shall we sing a song for you?" followed almost instantly by "You're not singing any more" when we scored was a 'highlight', as was "Let's all have a disco" at 1-0. Could go on but won't waste any more of your time.

 

Perhaps The9 had a point about the League Cup...

[Lets B Avenue]

Let's hear from our self titled Intelligent posters. What do you think the reason is for this seasons disapointing attendances, as highlighted by last nights embarassing turnout in the capital one cup? 7th highest spenders in Europe back in the promised land but apathy seems to reign supreme on the South Coast right now. Give us your views on http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/estimatedattendancefortonight

 

As you portray yourself as the supreme arbiter of taste/fashion/economics and god knows what else, I would have thought that your question could only be answered by yourself. Especially as you had already told us that you wern't going to the match.

 

Who are these "intelligent posters" that you constantly speak of? Surely its just you and your various aliases?

[This Charming Man]

Bit silly taking a picture of Chapel when 99% of the fans there were in the other stands. Not to say that the attendance wasn't poor.

 

It may have been a professional performance but it was dire to watch and I was tempted to rip out the voiceboxes of the 'yoof' around me. My ST is in the Northam so I'm pretty used to odd behaviour, but it was pretty clear that the lunatics had taken over the asylum last night. Take the most annoying, small-time chants going and repeat incessantly. Add in about ten minutes of berating a fat lad in the away section. "Shall we sing a song for you?" followed almost instantly by "You're not singing any more" when we scored was a 'highlight', as was "Let's all have a disco" at 1-0. Could go on but won't waste any more of your time.

 

Perhaps The9 had a point about the League Cup...

 

Not really, it's a perfect example of how poor the crowd was and how deserted the stadium was.

 

I also have a ST in the Northam but I just move to another part of the ground to avoid the little cretins for games like this.

[doddisalegend]

Here's a picture I took last night, minutes before KO. Something needs to be done as this is poor;

 

 

I'll be in the picture somewhere...still on the plus side I didn't have to queue for a coffee or a **** and got out of SMS in record time I even had plenty of leg room:)